Readers will
enjoy this hilarious story about a dog advice columnist. Dogs write to Mr. Mutt in hopes that he will
help them solve their problems with their owners. Mr. Mutt offers words of wisdom and diagrams
for how the troubled canines can deal with their unreasonable owners. Mr. Mutt
closes each response by reminding each dog that they are “Top Dog.” Trouble ensues when Mr. Mutt makes some
disparaging remarks against feline pets.
The Queen Cat retaliates by writing rebuttals.
APA Reference of the Book:
Stevens,J. & Crummel Stevens, S. (2008). Help
me, Mr. Mutt!: Expert answers for dogs with people problems. Orlando, FL: Harcourt,
Inc.
Impressions:
I
laughed the entire time I read this book.
I love that the illustrations show animals portraying humans. The diagrams and graphs that Mr. Mutt draws
to illustrate how dogs should act are hilarious. My favorite part was the response Mr. Mutt
wrote in regards to a famished dog. As a
dog owner, I witnessed my own dogs jumping on the table or counters to steal
some delicious human food. One of my
former dogs used to drink out of the toilet. I found Mr. Mutt’s advice to
troubled dogs hysterical. I like the unsolicited advice Mr. Mutt offers to dogs regarding feline pets. I think the Stevens sisters show an understanding
for how dogs think in regards to human behavior. I truly enjoyed reading this book to my
children and students.
Reviews:
From Booklist-
Sisters Stevens and Crummel, dog lovers both, share their affection for
canines in this oversize picture book that both adults and kids will like.
Bespectacled canine counselor Mr. Mutt dispenses advice to dogs suffering
clueless humans and “spoiled rotten” cats. When Famished in Florida (whose
tummy is a mere inch from the floor) moans about too little kibble, Mr. Mutt
offers strategies: hang around a baby’s high chair. It’s “raining food.” As
Mutt tippy-taps advice on his typewriter, tiara-wearing Queen the cat pens
snarky responses to those who disparage her species. Finally, having suffered
one too many canine cuts, Queen gives “Muttface” his due. Art and text work
seemlessly, with plenty of visual and verbal jokes (including goofy sketches
and graphs) to entice repeated readings. Even the endpapers are part of the
fun, and as usual, Stevens’ animals have so much personality, kids will find
themselves wanting to take them home. . . well, maybe not Queen. — Stephanie Zvirin
Zvirin, S. (March 15, 2008). [ Review of Help Me, Mr. Mutt:
Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens
Crummel.] Booklist. Retrieved from staging.booklistonline.com.
In the Library:
During different grade levels letter writing unit, I would use
this story to introduce letter writing or to reinforce this type of writing
craft. I would begin my lesson by
reading Mr. Mutt. I would find various print sources of advice
columns or find some student friendly advice columns on the Internet. After the students had ample time to explore
advice columns, I would present each partner group with either a problem card
or a solution card. One student group would write a letter explaining a problem
that the students were having while the other student group would write a
response that offered a solution to the problem. Another idea is to use this book to introduce
data analysis and graphs.
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