I Can’t Draw, Okay? Tom Watson apologises in the opening chapter of Stick Dog. He then goes on to lay some ground rules with the reader, explaining that:
| Stick Dog by Tom Watson | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Louise Jones
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| Summary: A badly-drawn dog and his friends go on a quest for food in the local park. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 176 | Date: January 2013 |
| Publisher: Harper Collins | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9780007494828 | |
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....this Stick Dog story (with the bad pictures that my art teacher doesn’t like) will also be told in a way that I like (but my English teacher doesn’t).
Good deal?
Excellent. Let’s move on.
This is going to be fun.
With this unusual introduction over, Watson launches headlong into a tale of a badly-drawn dog and his four (equally badly-drawn) doggie friends: Poo-Poo the poodle, Stripes the Dalmatian, Mutt the mongrel and a Dachshund called...Karen. The dogs have but one mission; to infiltrate the barbeque at the local park and grab themselves some burgers.
The style of the book is great fun, with lined pages resembling a school exercise book filled with plenty of random scribbles and scrawls. The author uses a chatty, conversational tone throughout the book, as if he is talking to a close friend, and often gets lost in his own thoughts and asides, which can be quite humorous at times, although the language is very child-like and clearly aimed at the target audience.
Stick Dog is quite a lovable character really. Maybe I like him because I draw dogs in a similar way! He is a sensible sort of character; wise and unflappable despite the chaos going on all around him. I thought the illustrations in the book were quirky and cute and would really appeal to young children.
Unfortunately, the story was not as engaging as the illustrations. I found it all a little flat and nonsensical. The cover art brands Stick Dog as: A really GOOD story with kind of BAD drawings. I would disagree. I liked the artwork but found the story lacklustre and predictable. The intrusive narration becomes a little irritating after a while, although that may be purely my perspective as an adult reading a kid’s book.
I genuinely liked the characters though and would love to see Stick Dog again in the future, but with a stronger storyline. Given the right kind of stories, Stick Dog could prove to be a very popular character indeed. We also have a review of the sequel.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney is written in a similar style to Stick Dog.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Stick Dog by Tom Watson at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Stick Dog by Tom Watson at Amazon.com.
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