Such fun to do this one with my My First Book kiddos. I was still getting laughs after I did it for the fourth time. The ending is fun! ( )

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss. ( )

I really love this book ( )

Three stars for just being so incredibly odd, from the suit-and-tie-wearing animal shelter employee to the out-of-left-field ending. I think kids will like this. ( )

Arriving at the Happydale Animal Shelter, a young girl requests a dog, only to be offered every other conceivable option, when it comes to an animal companion to adopt. She resists all efforts at distraction, and rejects every possible substitution, until she eventually learns that they don't have any dogs. About to depart, she is offered one final alternative, in the form of a seal...

As a great fan of Jon Agee's picture-books, someone who usually finds his stories and artwork quite amusing, I picked up I Want a Dog with every expectation of enjoyment. Unfortunately, although I found the illustrations here as droll as ever, somehow the story just didn't entertain me as much as I'd hoped it would. Humor is an idiosyncratic thing, and this one just didn't manage to tickle my funny bone. Tastes vary, of course, so other picture-book readers (especially fellow Agee fans) will still want to give this one a try. ( )