Review by Booklist Review
When a girl visits her local animal shelter hoping to take home a dog, she's greeted by a tall, besuited salesman who offers a series of alternative pet options that escalate in exoticism: a porcupine, weasel, armadillo, anteater, baby baboon, python, and frog, each one presented with a silly false promise. Look what I found! A goldfish! It wags its tail and knows how to play dead, just like a dog. Mister, replies the girl, that goldfish is not playing dead. (It's actually dead.) After she refuses an albatross, kangaroo, and wombat, the salesman finally admits that he doesn't have any dogs. His last-ditch effort, however, wins the girl over, and she goes home happy with her new pet seal, Lucinda. Agee (The Wall in the Middle of the Book, 2018) brings his unique charm and gentle absurdity to an otherwise-straightforward dialogue. While it's not a particularly inventive premise, 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.--Ronny Khuri Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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.)
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Review by Horn Book Review
A determined girl heads to the Happy-dale Animal Shelter, pulling a red wagon. When she tells the shelter worker that she wants a dog, he shows her everything but a dog. His offerings become increasingly absurd-an anteater, a python (wrapped around his head, no less), a lizard "dressed up as a dog," a wombat, and more. Eventually the man admits, head hanging low, that he has no dog to give her. But then the girl falls for a large seal named Lucinda, balances her atop her tiny wagon, and takes her home. There's abundant humor in the nonsensical pet options (a dead goldfish) and the man's suggestions (just teach the lizard to say woof). The man is exceedingly tall, thereby emphasizing the girl's diminutive size; this becomes all the funnier as she continues to dig in her heels. Close to the end, she passionately lists a dog's attributes, making this book, in part, a tribute to dogs...that features no dogs. It's also a tribute to the stubborn, yet highly adaptable, nature of children. This is signature Agee: the pictures, punch lines, and expert pacing carry the weight (with the body language being particularly expressive). The barrels of fish spotted near the girl's swimming pool at home indicate that her new pet is very much here to stay. Julie Danielson November/December 2019 p.61(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
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 ("Itknows 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 animalwhich 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 seemwell, possible. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
