Stick Dog (Stick Dog, #1) by Tom Watson

Stick Dog (Stick Dog, #1) Reviews

• 
  [S] Bibliophage

  I enjoyed reading this 1st book in the series though it needs to warm up to me first. The camaraderie and the funny exchange of conversation between the pack of Stick Dog is fun to read. I'm looking forward on reading the rest of the succeeding published books in this series.
• 
  Charlotte

  (I wasn't planning on reviewing this right away, but seeing that one star review it got months ago (why???) I had to quickly counter it). (edited to add--the one star review now seems to have gone away. Good).
  
  If you want to get your elementary school reader (age 8ish, say) to read a book, look for Stick Dog when it comes out in early 2013. I pretty much promise they will pick it up, attracted by the very funny cover and premise--dogs (drawn stick dog style)on an epic fantasy quest for...hamburgers.
  
  I received a review copy of this book on Friday, and in the next two days it was pounced on by both my nephew and my son, who both read it in a single sitting with great enjoyment. My son then pressed me to read it--"tell me when you get to the funny bits," he said.
  
  And there were many funny bits, too many to list, and so I give it four stars for a. charm and quirkiness b. young reader appeal.
  
  (I myself don't care for intrusive narrators, so it was not quite a book for me, Charlotte. Also I am not an 8 year old boy. And also, I would have preferred Stick Cat. Stick Hamster would be funny too....)
• 
  Jackie

  This book is flat out hilarious and will be tempting even for a reluctant reader. It would also be tons of fun to read aloud. But what I really like about this is the message of being kind to your friends, working together, and respecting everything (except squirrels--you'll understand when you read it). I also an impressed at the emphasis (subtle, but clear) on vocabulary. Kids will learn something while they are laughing. Is there any way better to do it?
• 
  Raina

  DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THIS BOOK!
  
  I avoid books about dogs, as a rule. For some reason, stories about animals in pain affect me very strongly. And it seems like every story featuring a dog includes bad things happening to the dog. I'm sure there are good and/or deep reasons for this, but suffice it to say I do not like them. Dislike.
  
  But THIS.
  This is fine. This is a feel-good, goofy story in the vein of an easy
  Jeff Kinney-style illustra-hybrid book for the elementary set. The dogs work together to get ahold of hamburgers! Scheming, adorable dogs from the brain of a pretend child. The dogs are silly, and do silly things. I found it amusing, which is saying something for a book like this. :)
  
  I have a vague memory that I liked that the kid says his drawings are really bad but HE STILL DOES THEM! Still uses them to make a story. I wouldn't be such a big fan of the negative self-judgement of his work, but I love that it doesn't stop him.
  
  I also like that the dogs debate methods for gaining the hamburgers - the crazy variety of methods demonstrate innovation/invention/problem solving and that is neat.
  
  I've actually had quite a few kids ask for it since I read it quite a few months ago, which is cool.
  
  Warm, fuzzy, cute, silly. I read it in one sitting. Yes, please. :)
• 
  Mama ant dviračio

  Knyga be išliekamosios vertės :) BET!
  
  Bet, tai puiki knyga vaikams, kurie dar tik mokosi skaityti patys. Didelės raidės, paprasti žodžiai (nors pasitaiko ir sudėtingesnių), eilutės suliniuotos, taigi lengviau išsilaikyti vienoje eilutėje nešokinėjant. Smagios iliustracijos. Pasakojimas nuobodokas, nors buvo ir linksmesnių vietų. Panašu, kad pokštai pasimetė vertime - pvz, pudelis Pu-Pu tokiu vardu ne todėl, kad pupsi, o nuo žodžio "pudelis". Angliškai, spėju, buvo Poo-Poo, nuo "poodle", o ne nuo "poop".
• 
  Nathan

  I loved Stick Dog! It was hilarious. The drawings were so funny.
• 
  Chalice

  Well, I laughed, and I might have gotten hungry, but I'm a little disappointed because I didn't cry. XD
  All in all, this was a very fun story. The narrator was hilarious, and I laughed out loud several times. And I must say I was a little surprised by the ending. It was great.
• 
  Willemijn jufwillemijnopallstars

  Dit boek is op mijn lijf geschreven. Of nouja, mijn tekenkunsten zijn hetzelfde. En dat maakte het al leuk om met het boek te beginnen. Het boek heeft als eerste een hele leuke vormgeving. Door de lijntjes op de bladzijden heb je het idee dat je het verhaal uit een schrift zit te lezen. Daarnaast is op bijna elke pagina een ondersteunende illustratie.
  
  De personages worden op een leuke manier geïntroduceerd. Als eerste leer je de tekenaar kennen, die daarna alle honden een voor een voorstelt. Dat begint het echte verhaal. Stick Dog is samen met zijn hondenvrienden altijd op zoek naar eten. Ze hebben hun zinnen gezet op de hamburgers die vers worden klaargemaakt in het park.
  
  Samen bedenken de honden een plan om de hamburgers te stelen. Maar plan voor plan wordt afgekeurd door Stick Dog. Het is allemaal veel te ingewikkeld. Dan komen ze met een groot plan waarbij alle honden moeten samenwerken.
  
  Het boek zit boordevol grapjes en leest makkelijk weg. Het boek kan gelezen worden door kinderen van 7 jaar en ouder. Voor 7-jarigen die nog maar net kunnen lezen, is het leuker om het voor te lezen. De letters zijn vrij klein voor een boek voor kinderen van deze leeftijd, maar het taalgebruik past prima.
• 
  Steph

  So flipping weird but funny. Basically Stick Dog and his friends (including Stripes, who has spots) are off on an adventure to obtain some hamburgers. Their suggestions on how to go about getting the burgers are just ridiculous, and Stick Dog politely makes the dogs feel heard but helps lead them towards better ideas. Lots of sarcasm, which I love, and a perfect description of what dogs WOULD think about, say, and do if we could understand them. So dumb, and so darn lovable.
  
  Written like a diary, with sketched illustrations that remind me of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
  
  3.5 stars, but I rounded up because of the character named Poo-Poo. I read this aloud to my 3rd graders and even a few days in while reading it I'd bust out laughing.
  
  This is why I teach 8 year olds. Because I totally get their humor.
  
  But you go ahead and say it out loud and NOT laugh. I dare you.
  
  "Poo Poo."
  
  
  :)
• 
  Jehnie

  Read for the 4th Grade Battle of the Books
  I'm not a fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid copies in general, but I found this book poorly written. While I understand the idea of writing from the perspective of a kid, I still think books should be a good model of grammar for the readers.
  
  Edited to add feedback from my boys:
  9 yr old: "The book is dumb; it has no plot and bad drawings. I'd give it as close to 0 stars as I could."
  8 yr old: "I liked it. Stick Dog encourages his friends, even when they have goofy ideas."
  
  I'll stick with two stars.
• 
  Leo

  THIS BOOK IS AS GOOD AS A HAMBURGER!!! You should really read this book if you like dogs trying to get hamburgers.
• 
  Ashlee Tominey

  My 3 year old saw the cover while I was browsing audiobooks and asked to read it. I was unsure how this illustrated book would be on audiobook but my kid thought it was awesome. He laughed a lot. I enjoyed the narrator's goofy voice and the different personalities of the dogs. After we finished it, we downloaded the ebook and looked at the pictures. I then drew all of the dogs, surprisingly well :)
  
  Be prepared to want a hamburger for the majority of the book.
• 
  Robyn

  So as it turns out, I am a human and I can read the book... although I might read it to a short person and a funny looking dog... or maybe a cat if one is around.
  
  This was a very funny little book. I think it hits a wide range of ages, and little to big will enjoy it. I love the silly art, hamburgers and all the friends in stick dog land!
  
  4 stars and a happy read!
• 
  Marisa

  This is a book that I would suggest younger kids read. I read it and thought it was a to easy book for me.
• 
  Clare D

  Funny, interesting and a quick read. I think this will appeal to all my grade school students!
• 
  Heidi

  Absolute silly nonsense. But one dog is named “poo-poo” and my child was hooked from that moment. I have to admit giggling myself.
• 
  Fridey

  Cute and entertaining..
• 
  Kayce's

  Read with my son. Such a cute book!
• 
  Татьяна Воронкова

  Funny and kind. Will definitely read it with my kids.
• 
  Sage

  elite book
• 
  Dr. Block

  A goofy book about a stray dog and his friends on a quest to get something to eat. Anyone ages 4+ will probably enjoy the book if an adult reads it to them. Most kids will need to be 7 or 8 to read it on their own. This book is part of a series, so if you like the first one, there are many more.
• 
  Aeicha

  Tom Watson's Stick Dog is a lot of things: funny, silly, clever, addicting, surprising. This little book, with its child-like illustrations and story, had me laughing out loud and feeling like a kid again!
  
  Stick Dog is all about the adventures of a poorly drawn dog named (yep, you guessed it!), Stick Dog. Stick Dog and his four doggy companions set out on a dangerous but worthy mission: to steal hamburgers from a picnicking family in the park. This mission isn't an easy one and involves ridiculous plans, distractions, a little bit of garbage eating, and a whole lot of luck.
  
  Stick Dog is a wildly entertaining book that younger readers will gobble up quickly. Tom Watson writes with a charming, child-like voice that is both sweet and cleverly witty. Told from the perspective of a child who is “writing” Stick Dog's story and drawing the illustrations, Stick Dog speaks to its intended audience perfectly. And the narrator actually speaks directly to the audience, pulling them in and making them feel like an important part of the story, which I enjoyed very much. Stick Dog's story isn't a complicated or intricate one, but it is completely fun and captivating.
  
  The silly antics of Stick Dog and his four canine friends (Poo-Poo the Poodle, Stripes the Dalmatian, Karen the Dachshund, and Mutt the mutt) will have readers giggling loudly. And these five doggy characters are impossible to not love and root for. The rudimentary illustrations have a special charm all their own and really complete the story.
  
  The whole “look” and formatting of this book is awesome. The pages within are lined and made to look like a child's notebook, and the text is sparse on each page, leaving room for the amusing illustrations. The whole look will definitely appeal to younger readers.
  
  MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Stick Dog and his doggy buds have won me over, and Tom Watson has a new fan! Stick Dog is made for younger readers, and younger readers will have no problems catching on to how awesome this book is, but older readers (especially those parents acting as bedtime story readers) will also find themselves entertained.
  
• 
  Judy

  This made me giggle quite a few times with its silly (but sometimes sophisticated) humour. I am confident that both my boys (8 and 9 years) will LOVE it.
  
  An earlier reviewer objected to the occasional big word thrown into the mix. I reserved judgement until I had read it. Now I'd say, yes, a lot of kids won't know what 'effervescent' means. But that doesn't matter, and if some of them look it up or ask their parents what it means... so much the better. That's how kids learn new words. And 'effervescent' is a good word. It is onomatopoeic. Hooray! I think it has been used out of a sense of the joy of language, with a bit of irony thrown in. Besides, the meaning in this context is pretty obvious. (See also "B stands for Beautiful. For Bountiful. Bodacious. Bombastic.")
  
  Furthermore, Tom Watson has given kids some pretty great definitions of words in his story, and the word discussions not only slide perfectly into the story, but are sometimes very funny. Delight in the definition of 'distraction'. I did. Especially Karen's contribution. I liked Karen.
  
  Stick Dog's unfailingly positive attitude is a bonus, and made me smile. I don't think it's didactic. It's just part of Stick Dog's personality to respond to the hare-brained schemes and behaviour of his buddies with a special kind of tact that leaves them feeling happy, not deflated. A useful skill, and something I found much more enjoyable to read than the jaded negativity of Wimpy Kid (a book that has been previously compared to this one because of the illustration style.)
  
  Enjoy!
• 
  Julie

  If you couldn't guess from the cover or the title, Stick Dog is a story about a dog drawn in the same style as a stick person. Its description on Amazon notes that it is intended for readers from 3rd to 7th grade, or 8 to 12 years old. Oh dear.
  
  I get it -- this style of writing is somewhat popular these days: a story told from the perspective of a kid about the readers' age, with similar drawing skills and interests. However, unlike others in this genre (such as Wimpy Kid), Stick Dog rambles and adds in all kinds of tiny bits about why things are drawn this way and that. You also don't know exactly who is voicing this story -- a kid hopped up on sugar, or an adult who is trying too hard to act like a kid?
  
  Stick Dog is a very short, simple book. There is not too much thinking going on here, it is more stream-of-consciousness. I know this will appeal to some (probably reluctant) readers, but I would suggest the age range to be about 6 to 9. In my opinion, this is not an award winner, but an option for, again, reluctant readers.
• 
  Margo Tanenbaum

  An entertaining book for 7-10 year olds who are looking for Wimpy Kid and Nate the Great read-alikes, this brief novel, described by the author as "a really GOOD story with kind of BAD drawings," should be a good fit for reluctant readers. The main character is indeed a stick dog and we follow his very limited adventures with his friends Poo-Poo, a poodle, Karen, a dachsund, Stripes, a Dalmatian, and Mutt, of course as described. The stick dog story is supposed to be written by the narrator, who starts chapter one by announcing "I can't draw, Okay?" We learn that he doesn't believe in following his English teacher's rules for writing, either. Most of the book is Stick Dog's story, however, and when Stick Dog's story ends, the book ends as well. I had thought we might go back to the narrator's story to wrap things up, but the author chooses to leave it with Stick Dog. I didn't find this book particularly memorable but I think kids in the target age group will enjoy it.