Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse

Siamese kitten Skippyjon Jones gets placed in a timeout after scribbling all over the freshly painted walls, and his mother warns him to behave or he'll be in the doghouse. But Skippyjon Jones, who dreams of being the sword-fighting chihuahua Skippito, thinks being in the doghouse sounds like a fabulous idea! As his mother and sisters go off to watch TV without him, Skippyjon Jones begins to imagine himself as Skippito visiting the doghouse and freeing them from the clutches of the evil Bobble-ito.

There are several good things about this Skippyjon Jones book. For instance, it highlights the fun children can have the good-old fashioned way. Without TV or any fancy technology but instead only a few props, Skippyjon Jones creates a whole show more fantasy world where he is the hero. The rhyming language is amusing and will appeal to young readers. And the illustrations are delightful with fun little details and the depiction of Skippyjon Jones as an absolutely adorable fuzzy kitten with giant ears.

But then there are the down sides. The first is more minor in my eyes - Skippyjon Jones misbehaves and is put in timeout, but he is not in the least hampered by this and does not appear to realize that his actions in drawing all over the walls were wrong. This is probably not the best lesson to send to a small child. The second is Skippyjon Jones alter-ego as the Mexican chihuahua Skippito. I have no doubt that the author has the best of intentions in giving Skippyjon Jones this alter-ego and presenting children with another culture and another language. Indeed, I have seen some Skippyjon Jones books and products that seem to embrace this well. But this particular title is not one of them. The idea of the outsider "other" (even if he is trying to pretend to be one of them as a chihuahua) coming in to save the day has so many layers of negative implications associated with cultural imperialism. And, in employing such language as "leetle" and plot devices as wrapping Skippito up in a tortilla as part of his rescue plan, the author seems to be mocking Mexicans more than anything else (regardless of whether this was the intention). It strikes the (adult) reader as a bad old Western in which you can forgive the latent racism only by declaring it a product of its time. But with the modern era, this should not be considered in good taste and I would be hesitant to introduce a young child to another culture in such a careless way. While the young readers may not consciously grasp all these implications, no doubt they absorb them subconsciously. show less

Skippyjon Jones, the Siamese kitty who thinks he is a Chihuahua, finds himself in the doghouse with Mama when he draws Chihuahuas all over the wall. Skippyjon gets a time-out in his bedroom, but when a call goes out for El Skippito to defeat the dreaded Bobble-ito, he’s off to save Los Chimichangos.

Whimsically illustrated, this picture book for young readers is sure to become a favorite. The youngest readers, ages three through five, are the target audience; the adventures of the Siamese kitten with the Brobdingnagian imagination are sure to delight young readers and elicit a gazillion giggles.

Recommended, especially for Skippyjon Jones fans.

Skippyjon Jones is a wonderful character and book. It provides a fun opportunity to incorperate Spanish, English, and Spanglish that quite a few students are coming to school speaking. It's an interactive experience that let's the students sing along and clap. The pictures are eye catching and fun. The whole concept of a Siamese cat who wants to be a Chihuahua is hilarious. In this adventure El Skippito finds himself in the dog house after getting in trouble with Mama Junebug who is tired of him pretending to be a Chihuahua. El Skippito though finds himself going on another adventure to help his amigos, Los Chimichangos get rid of the Bobble-ito.

Skippyjon Jones is one of America's newest, most-loved book characters. Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse is the second book in the series. Although I did not like it as much as the first book, it ran a close race. Skippyjon is a highly imaginative, overly hyper Siamese cat with gigantic ears. He is constantly getting in trouble wth his mother who sends him to his room to think about acting less like a chihauhau ( what he really wants to be) and more like a Siamese cat. It is during these time-out sessions that he goes on his wildest adventures as El Skippito, the sword fighting Chihauhau. The use of Spanish terminology and accents add to the excitement of the book and make children squeal with delight.

I was first introduced to this book show more at a Reading First workshop and the presenter read it to us with her strong Spanish accent. It sold the book to me. I went immediately and bought it. I read it every year to my kids in my best Spanish accent (which is combined with a hard-core Okie accent) so they can enjoy it to it's fullest. Although it is written for children, I feel it has just as much adult humor to it as well.

I think this book could be used at all age levels in creative writing. Once the students hear the book they can come up with an adventure of their own. Depending on the level of the students you could incorporate as many requirements as you liked. It can also be used as a language connection. Students could identify the Spanish terms and their meanings and then decide if it would have been as effective if they had been in English. show less

The book Skippyjon Jones in the Dog House is a silly yet entertaining book about a young Siamese cat who believes he is a Chihuahua. I loved this book because it is entertaining, silly, and a fun read. For instance, Skippyjon Jones sings a song that the audience can follow along to that says; “ Everyone knows from mu big ears to my toes, I’m not a Siamese cat I’m Skippyjon Jones. A Chihuahua to my bones. And that’s what I think about that.” This song allows the reader to follow along and enjoys the silliness of the story. The illustrations are also very detailed to help the reader understand the story, especially since there are many nonsense Spanish words in the story. On one page, there is a detailed picture of Skippito an show more Los Chimichangos peering to find Bobble-ito- the bad guy. The audience can see how the use of dark colors to represent that the bad guy Bobble-ito is somewhere close. The audience can also see Skippito’s wide eyes to depict his fear in finding the bad guy. Although I quite like this book for the silliness, I think because there are so many nonsense Spanish words, it’s a little hard to follow along with the plot of the story. Many times I got confused, so I had to reread to make sure I understood the story. A lot of the names sounds the same, like Bobble-ito, Skippito, and Poquito Tito which makes it a little hard to keep up. Overall, I enjoyed this book because I think many young readers can relate to using their imaginations to play make believe and pretend to be something they aren’t. I think it’s important for young children to explore their imaginations in various different ways, and I think this book helps children with that. show less

Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat who believes he should be Skippito the Chihuahua. When put on time out from the disapproval of his mother he sneaks out to the dog house where there is many spanish speaking chihuahuas that help him follow his dreams. They take him through the journey of a becoming one of them but he comes back just in time before his mom sees he left. She believes he learned his lesson and now thinks like Siamese cat but in his head, a cat is something he will never be.
This was a great book that incorporated a small use of spanish and english. It replaced english words with spanish words to make the story more funny and interesting especially since it dealt with a chihuahua. The writing in the book was really creative show more and made you turn and swerve your head for the interesting sentences. Also once Skippyjon entered the dog house there was -ito added to every ending to emphasize the small life of a chihuahua.
GENRE: Fantasy
USE: Stick up for what you believe in
Expand your imagination show less

Skippyjon is a siamese cat that wants to be a chihuahua. When he gets in trouble by his mom he imagines himself as a dog and embarks an adventure with other dogs. This book is hilarious! Skippyjon becomes braver when he becomes a dog in his imagination.