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rkiladitis's review against another edition
4.0
A puppy is taken from his mother, purchased as a birthday gift for a cruel boy from his equally cruel parents. Abandoned at a dump, wrapped in linoleum tile, he is rescued, and chosen by another boy - a boy named Patrick. But Oz, as Patrick names the pup, is afraid of humans. He's never met a kind one, and he doesn't want to be hurt again. Patrick, ever patient, sits with Oz, talks to Oz, and waits for Oz to warm up to him. But Patrick's life is about to undergo upheaval, too: his parents are splitting up... is it because his father is allergic to dogs? Patrick swears that he will make the painful sacrifice and send Oz back to the shelter if it means having his father back home.
The Dog Who Lost His Bark is a sensitive, sometimes painful, ultimately soothing story about trust, betrayal, and family. Eoin Colfer creates wonderfully memorable characters, both canine and human, and PJ Lynch's black and white illustrations give them form. Oz's playful innocence is so harshly broken by his first family that it becomes painful; Lynch's illustrations give us a sweet dog that just wants to be loved, but is terrified of opening himself up to that possibility ever again. It's all there, right on the cover image. Illustrations introducing us to Patrick, the boy who adopts Oz, give us a sensitive boy who wants to reach his pup.
The Dog Who Lost His Bark reads like classic kidlit. I'll be recommending this one along with my EB White favorites and Kate DiCamillo's books, for sure. Beautifully written, wonderfully illustrated, and an absolute must for your reading lists next year, educators. The Candlewick website offers a free, downloadable discussion guide.
The Dog Who Lost His Bark is a sensitive, sometimes painful, ultimately soothing story about trust, betrayal, and family. Eoin Colfer creates wonderfully memorable characters, both canine and human, and PJ Lynch's black and white illustrations give them form. Oz's playful innocence is so harshly broken by his first family that it becomes painful; Lynch's illustrations give us a sweet dog that just wants to be loved, but is terrified of opening himself up to that possibility ever again. It's all there, right on the cover image. Illustrations introducing us to Patrick, the boy who adopts Oz, give us a sensitive boy who wants to reach his pup.
The Dog Who Lost His Bark reads like classic kidlit. I'll be recommending this one along with my EB White favorites and Kate DiCamillo's books, for sure. Beautifully written, wonderfully illustrated, and an absolute must for your reading lists next year, educators. The Candlewick website offers a free, downloadable discussion guide.
mblair8506's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book of true love and longing. Oz and Patrick need each other to make their lives complete. The feelings that come through in the pictures as well are just beautiful. This is a perfect book for those looking for a story of love and what makes our lives complete.
jademelody's review against another edition
4.0
Rated: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review.
Expected Release: September 10th 2019
This review isn't going to be super long or anything because this is a book I don't really have a lot to say about. That isn't a bad thing at all! Sometimes books just evoke emotions but there isn't much to say about that besides sharing what emotions it made you feel.
The beginning of this book was really sad. It featured animal abuse and the thoughts of the dog that was abused. I love dogs with my whole being, and I currently have a dog that we rescued from the shelter. When we first got him he was super skittish and shy because he was abandoned on the side of a road with his litter mates. They were eventually found with no hair and fleas all over them but they were rescued, thank god. Reading this book made me think about how my dog must have felt when he was abandoned like that. It's hard for me to think about, but it makes me feel better to know that we have given him a home for 8 years now, and that he has become a much happier, healthy and strong doggo.
Anyways, I thought the beginning of this book really evoked emotion and I respect how serious they talked about animal abuse in what is considered a children's book. I think this will make children more interested in rescuing dogs and helping them get their bark back, whatever it is their bark is.
I really liked this book and the connection between Oz & Patrick.
Received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review.
Expected Release: September 10th 2019
This review isn't going to be super long or anything because this is a book I don't really have a lot to say about. That isn't a bad thing at all! Sometimes books just evoke emotions but there isn't much to say about that besides sharing what emotions it made you feel.
The beginning of this book was really sad. It featured animal abuse and the thoughts of the dog that was abused. I love dogs with my whole being, and I currently have a dog that we rescued from the shelter. When we first got him he was super skittish and shy because he was abandoned on the side of a road with his litter mates. They were eventually found with no hair and fleas all over them but they were rescued, thank god. Reading this book made me think about how my dog must have felt when he was abandoned like that. It's hard for me to think about, but it makes me feel better to know that we have given him a home for 8 years now, and that he has become a much happier, healthy and strong doggo.
Anyways, I thought the beginning of this book really evoked emotion and I respect how serious they talked about animal abuse in what is considered a children's book. I think this will make children more interested in rescuing dogs and helping them get their bark back, whatever it is their bark is.
I really liked this book and the connection between Oz & Patrick.
thisandthatwithkaren's review against another edition
4.0
This is a lovely story about love, loss and healing.
Patrick names the dog Oz and helps him find his bark but something happens along the way when Patrick realises that he too has lost something. As Patrick deals with his own loss can Oz help him recover in turn?
The story has excellent illustrations and tells a really beautiful story.of hope and how we can still love even when the people we love hurt us. I have a rescue dog who was abused and we have helped each other so I really connected to the story.
I highly recommended for both children and adults.
I requested and received an Advanced reader Copy from the publisher and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Patrick names the dog Oz and helps him find his bark but something happens along the way when Patrick realises that he too has lost something. As Patrick deals with his own loss can Oz help him recover in turn?
The story has excellent illustrations and tells a really beautiful story.of hope and how we can still love even when the people we love hurt us. I have a rescue dog who was abused and we have helped each other so I really connected to the story.
I highly recommended for both children and adults.
I requested and received an Advanced reader Copy from the publisher and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
crystal_e_fall's review against another edition
4.5
A book read on a whim at work because the synopsis sounded to heartwarming/heartbreaking to ignore, but I was surprised and so impressed at all the sweet, emotional, complex things the author managed to weave together in such a short book, and aimed at younger kids no less!
bokslukaren's review against another edition
5.0
A wholesome story about a traumatized dog, and a young boy whose parents are getting a divorce. A sad, but heartwarming children’s book. Written from the puppy and the boy’s perspective.
lady_mair's review against another edition
3.0
(3.5 STARS)
The ending feels a little clunky, but the overall sweetness of this story makes it an enjoyable read.
The ending feels a little clunky, but the overall sweetness of this story makes it an enjoyable read.
philomath_in_phila's review against another edition
4.0
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
I have been a fan of Eoin Colfer since 2001 when the first Artemis Fowl book, Artemis Fowl, was published. I had to jump at the chance to read his latest book, The Dog Who Lost His Bark.
The Dog Who Lost His Bark is a moving and uplifting story about a boy, a dog, and music's ability to heal and connect people. I used to work with first-grade students and they would thoroughly enjoy this story. As with any book you read to children, read this to yourself before you read it to them. Make sure you will want to reread it over and over to them because this is one they are going to request again and again.
The illustrator is P J Lynch. The Dog Who Lost His Bark is listed as his only work but his website, http://www.pjlynchgallery.com, states he "has won many awards including the Mother Goose Award, the Christopher Medal three times, and the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal on two occasions. PJ has recently been announced as the fourth Laureate na nÓg, Ireland’s laureate for children’s literature."
BTW, according to Goodreads, Eoin is pronounced Owen. Apparently, I have been saying it incorrectly for years.
This review was published on Goodreads on 7/1/19. This review will be published on Philomathinphila.com on its release date, 9/10/19.
I have been a fan of Eoin Colfer since 2001 when the first Artemis Fowl book, Artemis Fowl, was published. I had to jump at the chance to read his latest book, The Dog Who Lost His Bark.
The Dog Who Lost His Bark is a moving and uplifting story about a boy, a dog, and music's ability to heal and connect people. I used to work with first-grade students and they would thoroughly enjoy this story. As with any book you read to children, read this to yourself before you read it to them. Make sure you will want to reread it over and over to them because this is one they are going to request again and again.
The illustrator is P J Lynch. The Dog Who Lost His Bark is listed as his only work but his website, http://www.pjlynchgallery.com, states he "has won many awards including the Mother Goose Award, the Christopher Medal three times, and the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal on two occasions. PJ has recently been announced as the fourth Laureate na nÓg, Ireland’s laureate for children’s literature."
BTW, according to Goodreads, Eoin is pronounced Owen. Apparently, I have been saying it incorrectly for years.
This review was published on Goodreads on 7/1/19. This review will be published on Philomathinphila.com on its release date, 9/10/19.
caitann's review against another edition
4.0
I couldn’t bear to read the first two chapters of this book - it took two tries to get through them, and I almost considered not picking it up again because the abuse against this poor puppy by such hideous people was too hard to read, but I also couldn’t bear leaving the puppy in that situation - I had to see him get out of it (I also would have liked to see that abusive family destroyed, but you can’t have everything).
I cried when Patrick found him at the shelter, and when he was determined to bring him home despite all the odds and reasons not to - as an owner of a rescue dog myself with his own share of past trauma, I understood that determination 100% and loved reading about the rescue and the time and effort invested in his healing (it was such a refreshing change to read about a bond between a boy and a rescue “multigrain” with a heartbreaking history vs a perfect puppy with a blank slate, the more typical doggy hero of these kinds of books - and the patience and kindness required to help traumatized dogs (always possible, no matter what!), which I thought was a very fresh, worthy angle to bring into a book for young readers)!
I lost the thread of the story a little bit with the dog “singing” exact melodies back to the boy after the music initially brings him out of the crate (though that part was wonderful!) - while him singing these songs without prompt later on was very cute, it felt a bit farfetched, like it belonged in a different story, not this one of a boy and a dog rescuing each other from their own sadness and heartbreak. I also felt a bit betrayed by the boy bringing the dog BACK to the shelter, even though it was easy to see how his reasoning concerning having to choose his dad over his dog made sense in his head, but STILL. That part really, really hurt. All that being said though, I loved this book for Oz most of all - that puppy deserves the whole world and more - and the illustrations throughout were absolute perfection. I didn’t expect this little book to make me feel so much, but it packed an emotional punch bigger than any thousand page book I’ve read recently, and despite the fact that I feel as if it broke my heart more than it warmed it, you can always tell when you’re reading something important, and that was no exception.
I cried when Patrick found him at the shelter, and when he was determined to bring him home despite all the odds and reasons not to - as an owner of a rescue dog myself with his own share of past trauma, I understood that determination 100% and loved reading about the rescue and the time and effort invested in his healing (it was such a refreshing change to read about a bond between a boy and a rescue “multigrain” with a heartbreaking history vs a perfect puppy with a blank slate, the more typical doggy hero of these kinds of books - and the patience and kindness required to help traumatized dogs (always possible, no matter what!), which I thought was a very fresh, worthy angle to bring into a book for young readers)!
I lost the thread of the story a little bit with the dog “singing” exact melodies back to the boy after the music initially brings him out of the crate (though that part was wonderful!) - while him singing these songs without prompt later on was very cute, it felt a bit farfetched, like it belonged in a different story, not this one of a boy and a dog rescuing each other from their own sadness and heartbreak. I also felt a bit betrayed by the boy bringing the dog BACK to the shelter, even though it was easy to see how his reasoning concerning having to choose his dad over his dog made sense in his head, but STILL. That part really, really hurt. All that being said though, I loved this book for Oz most of all - that puppy deserves the whole world and more - and the illustrations throughout were absolute perfection. I didn’t expect this little book to make me feel so much, but it packed an emotional punch bigger than any thousand page book I’ve read recently, and despite the fact that I feel as if it broke my heart more than it warmed it, you can always tell when you’re reading something important, and that was no exception.