I Want a Dog

by Jon Agee

Overview

A girl seeks her perfect pet at a wonderfully unusual animal shelter in this comical read-aloud by the award-winning creator of Life on Mars

The Copley County Animal Shelter has an aardvark, a lizard, a goose, a weasel, and plenty more. But do they have a puppy? The girl with her wagon is ready to adopt a dog—not an aardvark, lizard, or goose! Can the shelter manager help her to find her perfect pet?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525555469
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/24/2019
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	479,455
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jon Agee is the author/illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor winner It's Only Stanley and the ALA Notable Books Little Santa, Terrific, Milo's Hat Trick, and The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau, and a series of popular wordplay books including the IRA-CBC Children's Choice book of palindromes, Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog! Jon grew up along the Hudson River in Nyack, New York, and went to college at The Cooper Union School of Art in New York City, where he studied painting and filmmaking. Now a full-time author, he lives in San Francisco with his wife, Audrey.

Editorial Reviews

Agee, an absurdist of long and beloved standing…knows how to build on and milk a fine premise. This is a very fine one, something of an inverse to the famous Monty Python cheese shop sketch, and Agee's cartoonish but deadpan watercolors strike just the right comic tone.

The New York Times Book Review - Bruce Handy

07/08/2019

In this story by Agee (The Wall in the Middle of the Book), a child visits the Happydale Animal Shelter and asks for a dog. The tall, skinny man who runs the shelter presses her to accept an armadillo, or maybe an anteater. “How about this baby baboon? It doesn’t go woof, but it chases a ball, just like a dog!” The girl, who has brown skin and wears a bright yellow dress, isn’t interested. “I don’t want a baby baboon,” she says. A python? A frog? A tail-up goldfish? Her words appear just above her head against a blank wall and hang in the air with finality: “Mister, that goldfish is not playing dead.” Somehow, the two reach a compromise. He asks why a dog is so important, and she leaves with a fine pet, indeed (“loyal, loving, smart, cuddly, goofy”—the works). Reversed expectations give this story its laughs—the child dominating the exchange, her lack of interest in the myriad offers. Agee’s cartoon drawings of the hapless animals are winning, but it’s the child’s implacable resolve that sees the story through. Ages 5–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Agee, an absurdist of long and beloved standing . . . knows how to build on and milk a fine premise. This is a very fine one . . . and Agee’s cartoonish but deadpan watercolors strike just the right comic tone.” —The New York Times Book Review

★ "This is a great storytime read-aloud and a wonderful addition to any library collection. This cheerful story is sure to inspire bouts of laughter from young children." —School Library Journal

"Agee’s cartoon drawings of the hapless animals are winning, but it’s the child’s implacable resolve that sees the story through." —Publishers Weekly

"Beginning readers will love the child's firm reiteration of priorities . . . This entertaining, engaging read makes the most impossible pets seem…well, possible." —Kirkus

"Agee (The Wall in the Middleof the Book, 2018) brings his unique charm and gentle absurdity to an otherwise-straightforward dialogue . . . his artwork elevates the story, rendering so much humor(and, somehow, pathos) through deceptively simple expressions and gestures. With Agee, readers are always in for a treat. —Booklist

"The charm here is in the subversion of the standard you-cannot-have-a-pet trope, with the youngster playing the practical, no-nonsense realist, and the grownup tending toward the outlandish and frantic." —BCCB

From the Publisher

09/27/2019

PreS-Gr 1-A little girl really wants a dog so she journeys to Happydale Animal Shelter in an attempt to find her ideal pet. The man at the shelter shows her an abundance of unusual animal choices and attempts to persuade her to choose the pets he selects instead. However, the little girl remains adamant that she wants a dog. This book is filled with comical exchanges between the man and child. Repetition of the phrase "I want a dog" adds to the humorous quality of the narrative. Readers will be anxious to see what pet emerges next. Many of the pages feature the simple but attention-grabbing large doorway and a salesman at one end of the scene. On the opposite end of the scene the little girl is depicted with a new pet option. The rest of the scene is relatively spacious, focusing readers' attention on important changes within the scene. Drawings feature a lively cartoon art style with washes of color throughout. The imagery adds to the narrative's playful tone. VERDICT This is a great storytime read-aloud and a wonderful addition to any library collection. This cheerful story is sure to inspire bouts of laughter from young children.-Deanna Smith, Pender County Public Library, NC

School Library Journal

2019-07-28
A charming interaction at an animal shelter leads to the adoption of a pet that's better than a dog.

Agee's (The Wall in the Middle of the Book, 2018) newest work opens on the softly picturesque business district of Happyvale. A small girl with brown skin and puffy black hair in a ponytail visits the animal shelter to ask for a dog, wagon in tow. But apparently they have every other animal except a dog, and the tall, white man who runs it tries to get her to take every single one. Their banter is absolutely delightful. As he tries to persuade the girl to take a baboon, a frog, even a goldfish ("It…knows how to play dead, just like a dog," he says; "Mister, that goldfish is not playing dead"), the kid remains steadfast. Beginning readers will love the child's firm reiteration of priorities: "That's okay. I do not want a goldfish. I want a dog." Exasperation hilariously clear in her body language, the girl wonders whether the man knows what a dog is, then finally changes her approach: "Do you even have a dog?" As the man confesses that he does not have the desired pet, he does bring her one last animal—which really ends up being better than a dog! Amazingly, the girl's parents (who both present black) seem to agree.

This entertaining, engaging read makes the most impossible pets seem…well, possible. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews