Stick Dog (Stick Dog Series #1)

by Tom Watson

Overview

Introducing everyone's new best friend: Stick Dog! Don't miss the very first book in this bestselling funny illustrated series.

He'll make you laugh...he'll make you cry...but above all, he'll make you hungry!

Follow Stick Dog as he goes on an epic quest for the perfect burger. With hilarious text and stick-figure drawings, reluctant readers eat this one up!

Perfect for fans of such series as The Last Kids on Earth, Dog Man, Big Nate, Timmy Failure, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this is the first book in the bestselling Stick Dog series. A favorite of readers ages 6 to 12, both avid and less so, Stick Dog is a winner for those looking for their next funny illustrated middle grade book series.

Other favorites in the series include Stick Dog Wants a Hot Dog, Stick Dog Chases a Pizza, and many more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062110787
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/08/2013
Series:	Stick Dog Series , #1
Pages:	189
Sales rank:	139,476
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	710L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Tom Watson lives in Chicago with his wife, daughter, and son. He also has a dog, as you could probably guess. The dog is a Labrador-Newfoundland mix. Tom says he looks like a Labrador with a bad perm. He wanted to name the dog "Put Your Shirt On" (please don't ask why), but he was outvoted by his family. The dog's name is Shadow. Early in his career Tom worked in politics, including a stint as the chief speechwriter for the governor of Ohio. This experience helped him develop the unique, storytelling narrative style of the Stick Dog books. More important, Tom's time in politics made him realize a very important thing: Kids are way smarter than adults. And it's a lot more fun and rewarding to write stories for them than to write speeches for grown-ups.

Editorial Reviews

I Can’t Draw, Okay?” is the name of the first chapter of this heavily illustrated reader from Watson, who’s previously published two e-books starring the eponymous dog. Watson illustrated those earlier tales, but Long (Pig Has a Plan) does the “bad” drawing in this iteration, contributing exuberant stick-figure cartoons that riff on and clean up Watson’s earlier designs. It’s a treat to see how Long transforms two rectangles, some googly eyes, and a few lines into spot-on evocations of endearingly goofy dog behavior. Unfortunately, the new images also throw light on the book’s weaknesses: overworked prose, weak characterizations, forced jokes, and a woolly narrative about five stray dogs that catch the scent of a cookout and head off in search of its source. Watson tries to be ironic and irreverent in his humor, claiming his story will be “told in a way I like (but my English teacher doesn’t)” and naming one of Stick Dog’s canine friends Poo-Poo (he’s a poodle). But readers may quickly start flipping ahead, looking for storytelling traction or differentiation among the characters. Ages 8–12. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Get ready to laugh (and crave a burger or two) in this first of many Stick Dog adventures.” — Brightly

From the Publisher

Get ready to laugh (and crave a burger or two) in this first of many Stick Dog adventures.

Brightly

Get ready to laugh (and crave a burger or two) in this first of many Stick Dog adventures.

Brightly.com

Nothing's better than a grilled burger on a hot summer day in Picasso Park, but how's a pack of mutts going to get some? Stick Dog (so named not because he loves sticks--though he does--but because narrator Tom can only draw him like a stick figure) lives in an empty pipe under Highway 16. He and his friends--Poo-Poo the poodle, Stripes the Dalmatian, Karen the dachshund and Mutt the…well, mutt--are all hungry, and they smell burgers on the grill in a nearby park. They race over…OK, their race is interrupted by Poo-Poo's obsessive hatred of squirrels…and find a family grilling. Each pup puts forth a plan to nab the burgers. Biting ankles? No. Stealing their car? No. Cliff diving? Uh, no. Stick Dog has a brilliant burger-snitching plan, but things don't go exactly as planned. Watson's retelling and extension of his self-published Stick Dog adventure, re-illustrated by Long, is full of silly, slapstick doggy humor. Stick Dog is slightly smarter than his eminently distractible ADHD canine pals, and young readers or listeners will enjoy his repeated use of reverse psychology to get them where they need to be. Three to four sentences in large type on fake notebook paper with ample stick drawings make this an enticing package for those just starting chapter books. A welcome canine entry in the metajournal genre. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews