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Stick Dog by Tom Watson (view source)
Revision as of 13:40, 25 January 2013
, 13:40, 25 January 2013Created page with "{{infobox |title=Stick Dog |sort=Stick Dog |author=Tom Watson |reviewer=Louise Jones |genre=Confident Readers |rating=3.5 |buy=Maybe |borrow=Yes |isbn=9780007494828 |pages=176..."
{{infobox
|title=Stick Dog
|sort=Stick Dog
|author=Tom Watson
|reviewer=Louise Jones
|genre=Confident Readers
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=9780007494828
|pages=176
|publisher=Harper Collins
|date=January 2013
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007494823</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0007494823</amazonus>
|website=http://stickdogbooks.com/id6.html
|video=
|summary=A badly-drawn dog and his friends go on a quest for food in the local park.
}}
''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:
''....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.
[[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney]] is written in a similar style to Stick Dog.
{{amazontext|amazon=0007494823}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=9238969}}
{{commenthead}}
|title=Stick Dog
|sort=Stick Dog
|author=Tom Watson
|reviewer=Louise Jones
|genre=Confident Readers
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=9780007494828
|pages=176
|publisher=Harper Collins
|date=January 2013
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007494823</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0007494823</amazonus>
|website=http://stickdogbooks.com/id6.html
|video=
|summary=A badly-drawn dog and his friends go on a quest for food in the local park.
}}
''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:
''....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.
[[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney]] is written in a similar style to Stick Dog.
{{amazontext|amazon=0007494823}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=9238969}}
{{commenthead}}