Second-Grade Dog

“One of those hap­py hits with built-in child appeal … Exu­ber­ant pen­cil and paint illus­tra­tions car­toon the action with com­po­si­tion­al flair, extend­ing the spoof on grown-ups in gen­er­al and offi­cials in par­tic­u­lar with col­or­ful aplomb.” (Bul­letin of the Cen­ter for Chil­dren’s Books)

“Bones is bored, and longs for friends. Every day he sits by the win­dow, watch­ing chil­dren go to school wear­ing T‑shirts and car­ry­ing their back­packs. One morn­ing Bones dress­es sim­i­lar­ly and sets off with them. Of course, the kids love him, and the fact that he is a dog does­n’t seem to both­er any­one; Mrs. Lamp­shade, the sec­ond-grade teacher, is so near­sight­ed that she can’t tell he’s a dog. When the fire mar­shal orders Bones to leave, the chil­dren scream “Unfair! Unfair! Unfair!” and fol­low the dog home. From then on, they vis­it him each day. The thought of hav­ing a dog join a class­room is a sil­ly one and will make chil­dren gig­gle. Lawlor gives the adults crazy names, such as Mr. Pen­cil­shav­ing and Miss Adhe­sive­tape, which will make par­ents groan and chil­dren chuck­le. Some adults may not like the idea of the chil­dren up and leav­ing the school, but young read­ers will love it; it’s clear at the end of the sto­ry that their vis­its with Bones will be con­fined to after-school hours. Fiammenghi’s water­col­or, pen-and-ink car­toon-like illus­tra­tions inten­si­fy the com­ic text with col­or­ful zani­ness. The pic­tures include chil­dren of dif­fer­ent races, and their facial expres­sions are full of humor. A live­ly, fun­ny sto­ry. ” (School Library Jour­nal)