The Day My Dogs Became Guys

by Merrill Markoe, Eric Brace (Illustrations)

When an eclipse of the sun turns Carey's three dogs--Butch, DeeDee, and Ol Ed--into people, they cause enormous problems for Carey by continuing to behave like dogs.

Genres: Humor, Childrens, Dogs, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1999

About the author

An author, a television writer and a sometime standup comedienne.

Reviews

[DelGal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who out there that has animals (specifically dogs) hasn't had the thought about what it would be like if our animals could talk, or were humans? This super cute, humorous, and nicely illustrated book explores exactly what would happen if dogs became humans, and it may not exactly be a positive thing, as you will see if you read this book.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carey wishes that his dogs, Butch, Ed and Dee Dee were human so he could explain things to them — like that squirrels don’t need to be chased from the yard and chasing cars is dangerous. And thanks to a solar eclipse his wish comes true and then things really get crazy!

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute kid's story about a boy whose dogs become human for a short time and cause him great grief. He's happy when they're back to dogs.

[Charmaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny story about a the day dogs turn into humans but still act like dogs. Their behavior is still bad and they still act like do dog activities. I know my class would enjoy reading about dogs becoming humans. As a teacher I would use this story to reinforce the importance of descriptive writing and also building upon characters. Using describing words that allow you to imagine the character in your head develops characters. I would remind students that without looking at the story they could form a vision of a character. After reading the story I will ask students to think how they think the character looks, their personality and the emotions they experience in the story. I would remind students they have to pay attention to the details in the story to help develop the character in their brain. I will reread specific pages in the story for students to see examples of words describing the character. Once we have talked about describing a character I will do a follow up activity to emphasize the strategy students learned in class. Students will practice writing descriptively to help improve their c by making it more interesting and engaging to read.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A total eclipse of the sun turns young Carey's three dogs into people . . . people with dog habits, that is! They may look like folks that you'd see at Walmart, but they can't stop chasing squirrels and cars, getting into the trash, and napping on the front lawn. How will Carey ever explain this to his mom?

I've often wondered what my dog would be like as a human. I can picture him as a tanned and athletic teenager, a serious and responsible adult, and now, well, now that he is older than I am (in dog years, anyway), I see him as a wise elder statesman, counseling me to slow down, enjoy the view, and take some time to smell the roses area around the base of the stop sign.

You know . . . I'm gonna take his advice. Except for that stop sign thing.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bizarre and humorous story that depicts pets becoming humans during a lunar eclipse. The narrative is silly and the illustrations are hilarious. We really enjoyed reading this story together.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO CUTE! She wrote a children's book!