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This Book Just Ate My Dog! (2014)

by Richard Byrne(Favorite Author)

4.13 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1627790713 (ISBN13: 9781627790710)

languge

English

genre

Humor

publisher

Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

review 1: An ordinary walk with her dog becomes something else again when Bella's dog unexpectedly disappears. One by one, the dog, her friend Ben, and would-be rescuers are swallowed up by the center of the book. When the same thing happens to Bella, she sends a note out to readers asking for help. All they need to do is turn the book sideways and shake it, and everything will get sorted out correctly. I found the book amusing and reminiscent of others created by Herve Tullet. As other reviewers have pointed out, the book would be useful in introducing the various elements of picture books and delightful for its endpapers and the punishment writing lesson apparently assigned to the book for misbehaving. Although we typically think of dogs as being the ones that misbehave, in this c... morease, it's the book.
review 2: The humor carries the day in this book, borrowing the style of breaking the fourth wall by engaging the reader in interactive problem solving. Herve Tullet is the master of this with PRESS HERE and MIX IT UP. Beyond the slightly wacky story and play on words (the dog ate my book), the concept of a book gutter consuming everything that approaches it from left to right is an interesting way to open a discussion of the labels of the technical structures of books. That includes a discussion of the role of endpapers in predicting and enhancing picture book meaning.While the story itself is fun, even giggle-worthy, I imagine young children becoming distracted by several glitches in logic/story. I'm not sure what is says about me, but I was distracted by these, too. First, the left to right\ pattern and "gutter gobble" is broken late in the story when the narrator/Bella turns right to left to look for the lost elements. Compound that with the question of how she made it to the right spread anyway if the gutter was so all-consuming. Add to that:How she was able to get a note OUT of the gutter, but couldn't get out herself? When the note came out it stayed on the LEFT spread rather than the right.Finally, the solution was so directly linked to Tullet's interactive creations that anyone familiar with those titles will compare them (a good thing for kids to do) but might find this one a tad unimaginative. Until, that is, the surprise effect on the dog is seen in the final pages. Youngest will adore this, but don't miss the chance to use it with older readers for those meta-book discussions. less

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