My Father the Dog

Elizabeth Bluemle, a fine writer out of Vermont College's MFA program (but choose your advisor wisely) combines with prolific illustrator Randy Cecil in this farcical comparison of dads and dogs. Bluemle reveals that dogs aren't just man's best friend; they seemed to have evolved from the same genes as well. How else does one explain one dad's proclivity to "start off the day with a good scratch," chase wildly after thrown balls, and run down the stairs to investigate strange noises in the middle of the night--just like the two family dogs! Although the narrator proclaims, "My father is human, but I know he is really a dog," she concedes that the "evidence" has some limits. For example, although she tells us "my father loves snacks," she admits, "I've never actually seen him begging for snacks udder the kitchen table, adding cautiously, "but it could happen." Still, the parallels are uncanny, even when the behavior is...well, not exactly flattering. We're informed that, like the dogs, "When [Dad] toots, he looks around the room like someone else did it." Furthermore, "he has been known to use a tree for a quick pit stop." Surely these defecatory similarities cannot be mere coincidence! Illustrator Randy Cecil displays an unusually light touch with oils in his 2-page spreads and circular vignettes. His deftly scratched color textures aerify the oils, and the exaggerated curves and elongated limbs match the fanciful narration. I enjoyed his pictures of dad's and dogs' parallel behaviors, although the dogs could have exhibited a little more personality (e.g., one raised eyebrow a la "Wallace and Grommet"). Cecil leaves the reactions to the human family. There's a tenderhearted conclusion to all this playful fun poking, and a real kicker on the last page ("...Mom says we can keep him!") A wonderful father's day gift for dads with an easy sense of humor, or any person in touch with their inner dog.

This is a wonderful book--really fun to read aloud, and good for lots of laughs and lots of fun animal imitations--i highly recommend it!

This one will hit pretty close to home in many households. I know it did in mine. The young child here flatly states that "My father pretends to be human, but I know is is really a dog." The child then goes one to prove the point. Little things like fetching the morning paper, can lie aroud for hours, growls when disturbed from a nap, and many more. This book is simply funny. The art work by Randy Cecil is quite appealing and the concept of the story is great. This is a good one to give to dad on Father's Day and is fun to read with the kids. Actually, there is quite a lot of truth in this book and will particularly be appreciated and enjoyed by those adults who have the ability to laugh at themselves. I enjoyed ever page of this one and saw so much of myself in it.

We first got this book at the library and my 5yr old son wanted to read it every night. It is very cute and funny. We still laugh every time we read it. We loved it so much we bought it for my husband for Father's Day. I recommend this book to everyone who wants a very fun book about fathers.

This is the kind of witty book that a lot of writers will wish they thought of first. A tongue-in-cheek look at the habits of Dad's everywhere, MY FATHER THE DOG is one that kids and their parents will want to read over and over. A great Father's Day gift for kids to buy for their dog-like Dad's!