Chip Wants a Dog

by William Wegman, William Wegman (Read by)

Overview

Chip has dreamed about owning a dog since he was a baby. A dog would be his best friend, for he would teach it to sit, stay, fetch, and roll over. But Chip's parents refuse to buy him one. One night, Chip's dream reveals a deep truth about who Chip is. Chip doesn't need a dog; he is a dog! From then on, his life is changed--he takes himself for walks; teaches himself to sit, stay, and fetch; and makes plenty of neighborhood friends!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698185852
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/20/2014
Series:	Penguin Young Readers Level 2 Series
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	41 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 7 Years

About the Author

William Wegman, beloved author and visual artist, is known internationally for his photographs, videos, and paintings. He has written numerous books for children, including the New York Times bestseller Puppies,and his videos appear regularly on Sesame Street. In this new book, his first in a decade, Wegman combines his background in painting with his photographs to create a fanciful new world, starring the two irresistible characters Flo and Wendell. Wegman and his family, which includes his four dogs Candy, Bobbin, Flo, and Topper (the real life Flo and Wendell), divide their time between New York and Maine.

Editorial Reviews

Some picture book characters yearn so ferociously for a pet that they begin to act like one, only to wake up and become human again. Wegman (Puppies) proposes a more radical solution. Chip, the title character, is not quite a boy. He is recognizably one of the author/photographer's Weimaraner stars in a button-down shirt, corduroy pants and plaid sneakers. Yet Chip appears to stand on two legs, and uses his human hands to hold the leash of his life-size, plush Weimaraner. "If I had a dog, I would teach it to do tricks," he sighs, as photos depict the expressionless toy with a stick in its mouth or standing on its head. Meanwhile, Chip's parents-also canines-deny him a pet. Chip's mother is "a cat person," decked out in a shawl with a kitten design, and his father adds to the irony with some finger-wagging: "Dogs are a lot of responsibility." Wegman follows the conventional formula until the dream sequence in which Chip becomes what he desires most. "I'm a dog!... I'm a dog!... I'm a dog!" Chip repeats, in a blurred, close-up spread of a swiftly moving Weimaraner. When Chip sits up in bed, his clothes are gone: "I don't need a dog, I am a dog," he realizes. Readers have recognized Chip's doggishness all along, but Wegman presents this foregone conclusion as a revelation. At heart, this is a typical be-yourself book, but Wegman's photos (and willing models) wryly emphasize Chip's transformation from uptight to unfettered. All ages. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly