Bark, George

The expressions, they slay me. George: amiable, a little confused, but obliging. George's mother: aggravated, ashamed, bowled over with surprise. The vet: taken aback but prepared to deal with the situation. Impossible to read just once! An instant favorite.

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George just won't bark properly! His frustrated mother takes him to the vet, who solves the problem...but returning home from the vet, there's a surprise!

Re-read December 2020 at the Eric Carle Museum

This is a super fun book to read aloud. The illustrations are hilarious, especially of George's mother, and George's antics will bring a smile to your face.

George can make lots of animal sounds, except the one he is supposed to--will he ever be cured? Award-winning author Jules Feiffer draws children into this comical plot starring George, the puppy who can't bark, and walks them through his visit to the veterinarian. The blank, monotone-colored backgrounds compliment the minimalist caricature-like illustrations that transcend the setting. A mild theme of non-conformity and uniqueness runs through the story-line while the repetitive yet crazy discoveries found inside of George delights children and allows them to find a comforting rhythm in the storytelling. The repetitive dialogue flows naturally and contains word choice that introduces new, easily remembered vocabulary. The characters show more and the plot stand out as the main attractions in this sure-to-be-popular book. While the illustrations only make a brief nod to cultural diversity, the fact that the main characters in the story are animals balance out this discrepancy. Five stars for excellent readability and engaging dialogue. show less

“Bark, George,” says George’s mother. Unfortunately, George makes everyone sound but a proper doggy “Arf.” He meows, moos, and oinks, but he just can’t seem to bark. So his mother takes him to the vet. When George meows instead of barking, the vet reaches inside George’s mouth and pulls out a live cat! Finally, after pulling out a duck, a pig, and a cow, George is able to bark. Walking home, his mother proudly says, “Bark, George.” George says: “Hello.”

The text is concise and full of dialogue, which makes this a quick and fun read aloud book. Kids will enjoy the funny ending and the repeated refrain, “Bark, George.” And although it may seem gross that George has animals living inside his stomach, most kids will show more find this element hilarious rather than off-putting. The illustrations use loose line work and bright backgrounds to create exaggerated and expressive characters.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2012/03/book-81-bark-george-by-jules-feiffer... show less

Hilarious story about poor George, who has lost his bark and replaced it with all sorts of animal sounds. Excellent for story times, preschool and schoolage.

Poor George can't bark, but he sure can meow, quack, oink, and moo. It's laugh out loud fun with a wacky ending that adults will love too.

Bark George is about a young dog whose mom is wanting him to bark. The first time he tries to bark he says meow, than oink, and than moo. George's mother isn't very happy with him so she took him to the doctor to see what was wrong with him. When the doctor took a look at George he opened his mouth wide and the doctor pulled out a cat, a pig and a cow! After George was done with the doctor he could finally bark like a normal dog should. He eventually wandered off into the streets and his mother told him to bark, but George says "Hello".
This is a great book for children under the age of six to read, because it has animals in it and gets them engaged within the book. The children can make the same noises as each animal through out the show more book does as well. show less