Review of "A Dog Named Cat," by Anne Toole

Review of

A Dog Named Cat, by Anne Toole ISBN 9781478773399

Five out of five stars

It began as a joke, when a family went to a shelter in order to acquire a dog, the boy Tad picked out one with a brown, gray and white coat. When the time came for a name to be given, the baby pointed at the dog and said, “Cat.” The human members of the family though this was cute and non-traditional and decided to use that name.

 However, over time when Cat was repeatedly told by other animals that he was not a cat, he began feeling bad. Cat tried barking a lot and other things in an attempt to show his displeasure, but nothing ever worked. Finally, when he steps in and “saves” Tad from a snake, Tad refers to Cat as “Lucky.” The new name sticks and the source of unhappiness in the life of the family dog is removed.

The structure of the story is in the form of two or four line sections where the alternate lines rhyme and the level of difficulty is approximately that of the second grade. The illustrations are very well-colored with a great deal of detail. Light shadows and even reflections off the tiled floor can be seen.

 This is a book that children will find fun to read, for they like stories that are formed from simple rhymes as well as about animals that communicate. I would have read this book to my daughter when she was young and she would have loved it. 

This book was made available for free for review purposes.