Smarter Than Squirrels

This is the funniest book our family has read in a while. It is told from a dog's point of view. The whole family enjoyed it--a great read-aloud.

I had the pleasure of reading some chapters of this terrific book to second grade this week. They laughed in all the right places and got the joke of the narrative.If you live with a dog or dogs, you will appreciate Nolan's understanding of all things canine. Down Girl narrates the story of her daily life. Along with her best friend, Sit, who lives next door, she protects the backyard from birds and squirrels by chasing the invaders up into the trees. She saves her master, Ruff, from the paperboy by barking at him through the window. This is important because she knows that newspapers are for spankings and she wants to save her master from a spanking. The book is written in short chapters and Mike Reed's illustrations underline the humor. A sharp eyed boy sitting near me, pointed out that the names on the dog houses said "Happy" and "Dot." The dogs think their names are "Down Girl" and "Sit." They have another dog friend named "Hush." When the dogs describe their efforts to guard their masters' hiding place for treasure, Reed's drawings help the reader see that the hiding place is really the trash can. The kids understood we are hearing these hilarious stories from the dog's point of view. We have a new phrase at our house now, "We are smarter than squirrels."

I picked this one up to check-out over the summer as it is up for the Beverly Cleary Award this year (2006) It was the funnest book and had me smiling all the way. Cat lovers beware this is a dog lovers story and you get the short end of the straw in this book. I read several lines to my family teenages included and they thought is was great. A must read book if you have the reluctant reader as well as the child who loves to read. Great for both boys and girls. No age limit!

What a fun book! I can't wait to read this aloud during our library story times. Because this is an easy to read chapter book, I will probably read it to my 2nd and 3rd graders, hoping that they will then also check it out, although it could be read aloud to any age that is familiar with dogs.

One of the difficult changes all children go through is when they move away from picture books to their first chapter style book. To make this transition easier it is important to have a book where the storyline is very strong and keeps their interest. Down Girl and Sit: Smarter than Squirrels fits this bill perfectly. Writing from the point of view of a dog (Down Girl) the author is meticulous about never getting out of character. This perspective makes the book both humorous and fun. Everything a dog does is examined from a totally different point of view that will leave children spellbound. Not just for children it is a fun and entertaining read for adults too. Open your mind, enjoy some creative thinking, and just have some plain old-fashioned fun. Down Girl and Sit is highly recommended.