Have you ever wondered if, while you are out, your dog watches television or logs on to the computer? I hadn’t either, but then I read “A Clever Dog” ($15.95, Mutual Publishing) by Jefferson Finney to my 2 year old,
Have you ever wondered if, while you are out, your dog watches television or logs on to the computer? I hadn’t either, but then I read “A Clever Dog” ($15.95, Mutual Publishing) by Jefferson Finney to my 2 year old, and it got me thinking about what really goes on in the life of a dog.
This is the key element to a great children’s book: to engage the adult reader as well as the intended audience: children. If the adult likes the book, she will be more likely to read it for the tenth time in one day when her toddler asks, as toddlers do.
Finney’s book is told through the eyes of a dog. This mischievous lead character, a smiling, black and white canine with big, floppy ears, reveals all the things he does while ‘they’ (his human family) are not around.
He watches TV, plays on the computer, and raids the fridge, proclaiming, “Of course I only take what I can eat” (with a chicken leg, Chinese take-out, and a plate of fruit in front of him.)
Although the anthropomorphizing of animals, especially dogs, is nothing new in children’s books, it is a formula that almost always works. And in this book it works delightfully.
After our clever dog reveals all the things he can do, he then reveals all the things he’d love to do, if only he could drive a car. His desires, such as wanting to enjoy the shade of the trees, check out books at the library and swim in the ocean, remind readers of the simple pleasures in life, and what a childhood should be about: enjoying nature, learning and exploring.
Pegge Hopper, the illustrator of “A Clever Dog,” is a distinguished artist, perhaps best known for her paintings of lounging Polynesian women with gracious, subtle body language.
She repeats her artistic success in this book, masterfully melding the movements of a clumsy puppy and a skilled human into one shape The illustrations are fresh and fun.
If there is a lesson in this story (as there usually is one in a children’s book) it is to not underestimate the intelligence of our dogs, animals — or anyone, for that matter. The dog’s family think he is quite clever because he can “sit, roll over, and fetch a ball,” but they have no idea he is capable of and yearns to do much more.
And when a curious, playful dog is teaching us the lesson, it is a lot easier to digest the message. Perhaps it is not the dog that is clever but author Finney, who teamed up with accomplished artist Hopper to create a charming book both children and adults can appreciate.
“A Clever Dog” is one book that I will read yet again to my son, and when we finish the book, we will yet again look suspiciously at our dog sleeping on the floor, contemplating his possible covert computer skills.
