REVIEW: I Don't Want a Posh Dog!

Dodd, E.  (2009).  I Don't Want a Posh Dog!  New York:  Little, Brown and Company.

0316033901

PLOT SUMMARY:  A young girl uses plenty of fun description to describe the types of dogs she doesn't want and eventually reveals the dog she does want.

What is it with dogs and describing them as posh?  I just happened upon Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy on a library website.  Hmmm.

The illustrations are fun and colorful.  Detailed enough that a beginning reader will find something to stare at (usually a dog's hair or expression) for a handful of seconds, without losing focus.


ACTIVITIES:

This book is meant to be read aloud!  A teacher could have a lot of fun with the poetry and the way the words flow.  This book could be brought in for older students as a poem to be memorized and performed.  A teacher could encourage the student or group of students performing to think about the voice and attitude of the poem.  How will they express that?

For activities to go along with sharing I Don't Want a Posh Dog!, a teacher could focus on how to present preferences in a polite way and to discuss how different people want different things.  It could also be used as an example text when doing a lesson on adjectives.  I Don't Want a Posh Dog! does include some made-up words.  Some teachers will take advantage of it.  Others might frown a little.  I say, the more made-up the more fun!

While not the focus, this picturebook also hints at some of the difficulties of taking care of a dog--the shedding, the jumping, the begging, etc.  (Sorry, cat person typing here)


QUOTES OF NOTE:

"I don't want a posh dog.  A blow-dry-when-washed dog."

"I don't want a snooty dog.  A fancy, attitudey dog."

"I just want a silly dog.  A sweet willy-nilly dog."


TASTY RATING:  !!!