Letters From a Desperate Dog

    "He won't even share the trash!" - Emma

Letters from a Desperate Dog is an excellent read provided by author Eileen Christelow that provides a perspective on life rarely thought of. I enjoyed reading this story from cover to cover about a dog's desperate journey for her owner’s approval. Throughout the story we learn that a dog's lifestyle may not be as mundane as we believe it to be. Emma, our desperate dog who is only seeking to get the enjoyment out of life that her owner George gets, is pegged as a "BAD! BAD! BAD!” dog. But Emma is resilient and resourceful. She searches the paper and finds a canine advice column. She emails back and forth with Queenie, her advisor, seeking different methods to get back on George's good side. Queenie has many suggestions including licking George's hand, which only leads to Emma making a mess with his paint, or, helping out around the house, but in this instance too Emma finds herself making a mess of the whole situation, literally.

It is the illustrations that keep this story flowing at a rate that keeps the reader's eyes glued to the pages. We constantly get an introspective view of what Emma is thinking through her thought bubbles and facial expressions. Not only this but watching a dog make several trips to the library in order to email her life coach proved to be pretty hysterical. Eventually, Emma follows the advice that the best thing for her to do is to seek a job. She wins a part in a play titled On The Couch, something she loves to do, but what she overlooks is that she will be travelling. Her role in the play takes her far from home. Although she becomes a star she misses her time with George. Again it is the excellent illustrations that guide through the emotions of Emma.

The show returns home for the final night and Emma is desperate to see George. Emma sends him an anonymous e-mail telling him his missing dog may be at the play. In the end, George and Emma joyfully reunite after the play and make their way back home only to meet the same frustrations as before. The story is presented as a mini graphic novel. The comic book like illustrations with quote and thought bubbles guide the reader through the text in a way that provided incredible insight into the thoughts of the characters. This would be a great book to teach students about internet and e-mail. Also, the story provides a lot of advanced vocab. Overall, Letters from a Desperate Dog is a great story that gets my seal of approval.