Marley: Messy Dog

Marley the Dog (I Can Read! series)

by John Grogan, Richard Cowdrey (Illustrator)

When Mommy decides to surprise Cassie with a newly painted bedroom, Marley wants to help. But by the time he's done, the messy dog is in need of a little help himself!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2011

About the author

John Grogan has spent more than 25 years as a newspaper journalist. Previously he worked as a reporter, bureau chief, and columnist at newspaper in Michigan and Florida. He is also the former editor on chief of Rodale's Organic Gardening magazine. His work has won numerous awards, including the National Press Club's Consumer Journalism Award. His first book, Marley & Me, is a number one international bestseller that was as a major motion picture on 2008. His second book is The Longest Trip Home. John lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, Jenny, and their three children.

Reviews

[Prophet James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional, exciting, occasionally theatrical - we get another look into Marley’s queerness as he decides to put his own creative flair onto Cassie’s room decorations. Naturally, his means of expression aren’t widely reciprocated by the family, who struggle to understand from their privileged white cis het mentalities (although I do get pansexual-aromantic vibes of Mummy in those painting dungarees). Generally, Marley adventure books give us not only the content we want, but an intrinsically accurate presentation of growing up LGBTQ+ in Trump’s America. 5*

[DonnyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marley clearly has ADHD and dealing with an abusive mother, it makes for a tough read! The dynamics of a broken household are cleverly explored through the metaphorical purple paint. The mother tries to control the paint but when Marley breaks the mould, she lashes out. Excellently written piece!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marley gets into the paint when Cassie's mom is painting her room. What a mess! But Cassie likes it just the way it is.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gunther would approve of this selection.

[Alaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mommy was painting in Cassie's room. Marley came out of the garage and Marley put his tail in the paint and painted on the walls. He then spilled the paint and hid in the bath tub. Mommy came in and screamed and Marley went outside, jumped in a pile of leaves, and then jumped to the puddle. Everyone cleaned Marley off and then Cassie went to her room and Mommy thought she would not like it, but she did.

I liked this book because it is silly and funny. I would recommend this book because it will make people laugh and it shows how much Marley cares about Cassie.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a "Reading 2 With Help" book meaning it's an engaging story with longer sentences and language play for developing readers.

"Mommy was painting the walls of Cassie's room. Mommy looked at the new paint and smiled."

"Mommy had put Marley in the garage so he wouldn't get into trouble. But Marley was good at opening doors."

[Ashley Kohls · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has I Can Read Level 2 on the front cover. The font was a bit smaller than level 1 and the words were more challenging. There were still many illustrations that helped guide the reader to understand what was taking place. I agree with Horning that this is written at a second grade level.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Any purple dogs in there?" =)

[Stacia Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book for these reasons:
* Easy to read with nice word selections for a beginner.
* Cute story for kids to follow.
* Nice illustrations.

[Anthony Pate]

This is another book that can inspire great discussions among your class. This will remind students of their own pets and their experiences with them.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/5/18 Read with Naomi & Julia