Book Review: Can I Be Your Dog? (children - dog, home, letters)

Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings* (Random House, 2018, 40 pages, pre-school to grade 2, ages 3-7, $16.99)

The front inside cover has a slew of cartoon-y postage stamps, mostly dog-related. I wondered why. Nevertheless, . . . on with the book.

What Makes a Good Children’s Book?

To find out, I asked the experts: I asked some kids!

“A good story.”

“A hero I could be.”

“Surprises.”

“A book that makes me smile.”

“A fun book with a good ending.”

“Good pictures that I can talk about.”

Can I Be Your Dog? is a GOOD Children’s Book.

Yes, dear reader, Can I Be Your Dog? has all of these, including pathos and an ending that should bring you to happy tears.

Our Friend, Arfy the Dog

Arfy lives in a soggy cardboard box at the end of an alley but knows all the houses on Butternut Street.

The Lost Art of Letter Writing

Arfy wants a real home all of his own so he sends off his resume in a letter to one house after another, and receives one rejection letter after another – the yellow house,

the butcher, the firehouse – and more. We see his letters and the letter carrier on every page.

Arfy fooled even me. I never guessed who he would end up with but it’s a perfect match. And the inside back cover tells young readers how they can help other animals find homes.

The Picture Tells the Story

Illustrations by author Troy Cummings fill every page and include much for your child to discover and tell you all about!

A Favorite

Can I Be Your Dog? is a clever book that your child (and you) will read not only once but two or three times in a row. Arfy will live on your Favorite Books shelf!

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*Author Cummings is a best-selling author. Doesn’t Day of the Night Crawlers (A Branches Book, The Notebook of Doom #2) sound fun? And how about Giddy Up, Daddy? (actually starring the author!).

And everyone needs More Bears!