Always in Trouble

Corinne Demas' ALWAYS IN TROUBLE pairs pictures by Noah Z. Jones with the story of a very bad dog who is always in trouble, wetting the rug, running into the road, and eating forbidden food. What's a owner to do? Fun drawings accompany Emma's attempts to turn a bad dog good.

This is a happy exuberant book that my two youngest grandchildren (5 and 3) simply love. They ask on a daily basis for someone to read it. They, too, have a dog, Columbo, who also gets into trouble: he chews on clothing, "steals" food, doesn't listen to commands that he understands perfectly well. It's a wonderful book for a grandparent to read aloud: it's lively, interesting, and lends itself to the inclusion of experiences from the listeners' own lives -- whether or not they have a dog. The five-year-old especially liked the ending and announced it was right: no one is perfect (which, I imagine, he's heard a few times himself). Plot, vocabulary, sentence structure, rhythm -- all make this charming story a pleasure to read.

What a great book! Our 3 year old daughter insisted on reading this book every night for weeks, and I didn't mind because it's so much fun to read (and she laughs out loud every time we read it). The story is very cute and the drawings are simply adorable. It's also got an interesting "twist" ending, but I won't spoil it. I'll definitely keep an eye out for other books by this team! Most people see this book as being about a dog, and the trouble that a dog can get into. Yes and no. I see it as being about young children and the trouble they can get into. All the things Toby (the dog) does are things that energetic, curious, or naughty children might do, too. In this respect, Toby is a lot like Curious George: children identify with the animal protagonist, who is generally nice but often does bad things. And the downside of Curious George is also the downside of this book: there are never any real consequences for bad behavior, neither in terms of the harm it causes nor in terms of punishment. Perhaps such books teach children to act cute and get away with anything. But I can't hold that against this book. It's simply too delightful and charming, and besides, virtually every other children's book has the same lack of consequences. We'll laugh at Toby's antics, and I'll teach her about consequences, and the difference between stories and real life, separately.

Toby the dog is always getting into trouble. He gets into the garbage, he runs in the road, and eats Emma's father's newly baked bread. First Emma tries giving him more attention, but soon Toby is eating crayons and tracking mud across the kitchen floor. So Toby gets sent to obedience school where he behaved so well he got a diploma with a gold seal. And, while Toby could now sit, come and heel, quickly, he was back getting into trouble again. This time, when Emma took Toby back to Ms. Katz's dog training school, Ms. Katz kept him for a week of special training. When Toby came home, he was a mostly changed dog. He took out the garbage, he baked bread, he folded the laundry and washed the kitchen floor. But no dog can be perfect all the time, can they? Find out for yourself on the last page.

The appealing, unpredictable pooch (who is always in trouble) will brighten even the bleakest season. Anyone who has ever had a dog who wasn't always perfect will love this story and smile at the surprising turn of events. The illustrations are zany and delightful.