What-a-mess

What-A-Mess

by Frank Muir

A puppy uses the painful process of trial and error to find what kind of animal he is or isn't.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Animals

30 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Frank Herbert Muir was an English comedy screenwriter and radio and television personality. From 1977 on he also wrote children's books based on his family dog, What-a-Mess. In 1997 he published his autobiography.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this little strange book in my Aunt’s book shelves at a family reunion.

It’s about an Afghan Hound. His mother is so elegant and he is such a mess that instead of his name, he thinks his name is What-a-mess. He doesn’t think he is a dog because of being a big mess so he goes looking for the animal he is like and bee, hat, or fish don’t work. The story ends like life, the search continues.

I found it an odd little story; very different from what I am used too. Not bad, but I also didn’t really know what to make of it. I didn’t think there was a lesson in it really. It’s just searching for who you are and I guess that’s enough.

The nephew loved the dog and the mess he was. I’m sure he can relate. He gets the fact that we tell him to clean up after himself all the time. He gave this 4 stars.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember these books from childhood. I think there was a series, I remember more full page illustrations than this one had. An Afghan hound doesn't look like his elegant mother and is constantly getting messy, this leads him to believe his name is What A Mess. This is fun and humorous, I enjoyed it more as a child than I did reading this now.

Read on open library.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The What-A-Mess stories were favourites of mine from the ages of around 6-10. We all have books like this that were subsumed into our minds and bodies at a young age and will, on occasion, float upwards to the surface, smiling. I am writing this review because these books are out of print. This is incomprehensible to me. I wanted to get them for my son, but I suspect my old torn and battered copies will have to do for now…

The main character, the aptly named afghan hound puppy, is permanently dishevelled, and prone to accident and misadventure. His real name is Prince Amir of Kinjan. A small yellow duck permanently perches upon his head.

In the process of searching I discovered this wonderful article from the Guardian, which renders anything more from me moot:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/books...

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Link to review here. I felt bad posting it on the actual page since it isn't really a proper one.

https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...

[Kate H · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child I read "What A Mess" and did not discover there were more books in this series until I was an adult visiting Hay On Wye. All of the picture books in this series tell great stories and the pictures are beyond cute and clever. NO matter your age these books are a definite must read.

[Juushika · Rating 3 out of 5]

An afghan puppy who doesn't know he's a puppy tries on other round brown forms to explain why he's such a mess. Another picture book with a delightful reversal at the end: after his failed experiments, the puppy is given an answer .. and misinterprets it, coming away with more glorious experiments to try tomorrow. I like that the antics of self-discovery are about the journey, not the destination, and Muir's illustrations are - well, the puppy's face looks weird as hell, but the vibrancy and detail of the illustrations capture the chaotic energy of the premise.