My Dog, Cat

by Marty Crisp, True Kelley (Illustrator)

Good things really do come in small packages! Can a boy and his dog stand up to the school bully? Find out in this fun and funny tale about friendship and a fuzzy runt of a dog named, CAT!

It's a CAT-astrophe! Abbie is a dog boy trapped in a cat family. He's also the new kid in school. Abbie wants nothing more than to be tall, to have a boy's name, and to have a big, mean dog to shut down the school bully. What does he end up with? A fuzzy runt of a dog named CAT! When the school bully finds out about Abbie's "runtface" dog, it's bound to end in CAT-astrophe. If good things really do come in small packages, could Cat be Abbie's dream come true?

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Dogs

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Marty Crisp lives in Ephrata, Pennsylvania a town about forty miles west of Harrisburg in Lancaster County where she writes as a correspondent for Lancaster Newspapers. She is married, has four grown children and is very fond of dogs, a primary subject in much of her writing. As a writer primarily for children, she has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Maxwell Medallion awarded by the Dog Writers Association of America.

Reviews

[kaotickitten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book. I love Yorkies and stories about them. Yet I had to knock this down a star for two things that are wrong. One was how Yorkies came to be, the author has the history wrong about these little lovelies. It only take a minute to research their history. Unlike making up places or a fictional history novel this was done in a way too educated. The second on was more grave. In the book she has the dog being feed a grape. Never feed a dog a grape it is dangerous and could kill one, especially a small dog like a yorkie. If you feed your dog human food , you should make sure it is safe for them. To put that one in a book for kids from 2-6 grades could be dangerous for a dog. They might get the ideal to feed a grape to their dog and do some harm. Other than those two things the story was well written.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure: The cover and publication date of this edition are correct for my copy, but it's a paperback, with 106 pages. I can't be bothered to figure out how to add my edition, though.

I almost didn't finish this because this is the third book specifically featuring bully plotlines that I've read in the past two days. It was accidental, but... the reason I've been reading such a diverse book selection is to change up the subject matter!

This is a decent book, though, despite the main character's (Abbie's) easily curable hang-ups:

1. Doesn't want a "girl's" name. Uh, my guy, your name is ABBOTT. *You* are the one using a "girly" nickname.
2. Wants to be the tallest person in fourth grade. Grass is greener, friend: the tall people have other problems that you aren't thinking about (not that I'd know from experience).
3. Dog person in a cat family (okay, maybe that's not easily curable, but he's in luck!).

So, if you guessed the obvious spoiler from the cover is that this teeny dog, named Cat, encounters a much larger dog and either 1. ignores it or 2. fights it, you would be 100% correct! The story of how this encounter comes to be is a little more winding, and deals with a bully, and it's *almost* a fun read, but Abbie whines a lot in the process. The ending is good, though, and somewhat predictable: a child fosters an animal and does NOT adopt it forever would be too sad for the tone of this type of story. (I did read one of those, but I'll review that later.)

Also, Abbie feeds a grape to the dog. DO NOT DO THIS, it is SO BAD for them!! Pets should not eat people food! (including some that are unprocessed)

Okay read, but it feels a bit awkward for me to enjoy reading again. The art is nice and complements the story well, though.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

it has a yorkie in it, that's my favorite part but the cover stinks

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommend for grades 2-6

[Jeannette]

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