The Barnes & Noble Review
Caldecott Medalist Alice Provensen shows how one farm pooch named Murphy spends his day in this quick-paced, effervescent picture book.
Thinking that his name is "Murphy-Stop-That," the zippy little terrier describes his day as it goes along, always occupied with what's in front of him. Like most dogs, Murphy spends his time snooping around and salivating over food ("Where's the pan? The pan first. Leftovers. Scraps"), with daily highlights of chasing "that dumb cat named Tom" and thinking about "Meat loaf baking. Chicken roasting. Pies spilling over!" Murphy also takes a trip to the vet, where he gets "Pinched...poked... prodded. Doesn't hurt, but get me out of here!" and when the moon comes out that night, Murphy winds up his busy day (after some loud barking that wakes everyone up) with his "Dear sock. Good old bone. Good old stick. Sigh. Good night."
Full of mischief and high energy, Murphy will keep animal lovers giggling. Provensen captures dogs' spirited antics wonderfully, with short, energetic sentences and silly facial expressions that make Murphy a pooch that can speak for all pooches. A howling, fun read for storytime audiences and young readers, too. Matt Warner
What is so refreshing about Alice Provensen's book A Day in the Life of Murphy is the scruffiness of the title character. Murphy may speak in the first person, taking us through the events of his day, but we'd never mistake him for a person in a dog suit. As we watch him raid the pantry, or endure a visit to the vet, or yap at the moon, we can almost smell him, and he smells canine, which in the antiseptic world of picture books is high praise indeed. — Roderick Townley
"Provensen's animated oil paintings follow the amiable, wide-eyed dog through the ups and downs of his day, which ends on a pleasant, predictably noisy note," wrote PW. Ages 3-7. (July) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
PreS-Gr 3-Farm terrier, Murphy-Stop-That, shares a day in his life in this fun adaptation of Alice Provensen's picture book (S & S, 2003). Narrator Jason Harris gives Murphy a scrappy personality with an eager demeanor and often breathless voice. The first-person account follows what appears to be an ordinary day in the life of Murphy which turns out to be filled with scads of mischief, lots of food, and even an unwelcome trip to the vet. Provensen illustrates Murphy's day with unusual vocabulary words such as "whirring," "snivel," and "lolling." However, sensitive parents might also be wary of an abundance of the word "dumb" in the text. The narration is brought to life with sound effects and upbeat background music. One side of the recording has page-turn signals.-Jennifer Verbrugge, Dakota County Library, Burnhaven branch, Burnsville, MN Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Not a whole lot happens in Murphy's day beyond scavenging for food, a trip to the vet, and a flurry of late-night barking, but that's not really the point. The point is Murphy himself, a wide-eyed, hairy little terrier whose energy communicates itself through an all-upper-case text and staccato sentences. Murphy appears as a mass of wiry black hair, frequently rendered in multiple across a page to further emphasize his boundless enthusiasm. The oil illustrations feature a flat perspective with liberal use of white space; this provides a static background that further highlights Murphy's antics. Provenson departs from lofty themes, delivering a spot-on interpretation of the inner life of a terrier, and the humor in many of the scenes is priceless. There is so little story that readers who do not share the author's evident enthusiasm for dog psychology may well be unimpressed; dog lovers, however, should lap this up. (Picture book. 4-7)
Murphy-stop-that is the name of the terrier who tells this story, in which, appropriately, since it depicts a day in the life of a dog, nothing much happens. There's the fixation with food and the smelling out of mice and a trip to the vet's . . . but don't expect a lot of plot here. Narrator Jason Harris zestfully enacts the dog's frenzy of joy over food smells, his panting voice, his inner struggle over trying not to bark, and his yappy little bark that cannot be suppressed. Provensen is a well-known illustrator, and her pictures, along with Harris's lively rendition of the canine, are sure to strike a chord with dog owners. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
