Review of Schoolhouse Dogs

[Christine Palmer]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Schoolhouse Dogs" by Dawn Renee Darnell.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Young readers follow along with a group of twelve talking puppies. The puppies start school. The dogs face many obstacles and find themselves in funny situations. The dogs face many of the same challenges young children face when they start elementary school. The dogs must learn new skills in school, make friends, deal with bullies, and even go on field trips. There are religious elements to the book. It discusses how God uses challenges to transform us. It also discusses forgiving God when we are angry.

Schoolhouse Dogs: Face Life is written by Reverend Dawn Renee Darnell and Reverend Jim H. Darnell, Jr. I like that cute puppies are used to convey challenging childhood lessons. The loveable characters keep young readers interested in the book. I especially appreciated the way some dogs had to deal with unfair teachers. How to deal with difficult authority figures is a key lesson many children need to learn early in their education.

I did find a few typographical errors in the book. I am not familiar with the different breads of dogs. When all the characters were being introduced, I found it difficult to follow who was who for the first few chapters. For a young reader this could be even more difficult, and an obstacle to enjoying the book.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. I like that the book conveys good life lessons in a way that is relatable to young children. I had difficulty keeping track of the characters in the first few chapters. As a non-religious reader, I did not appreciate the mentions of God. As I knew the book was written by reverends when agreeing to review it, no stars were deducted for this.

I recommend this book to young readers aged seven to ten who are Christian. Younger children may be interested in the book but would require a parent to read to them as it is a longer chapter book without any illustrations.

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Schoolhouse Dogs
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