By Jon Agee (author) , Jon Agee (illustrator)
"Warm-hearted, humorous text and soft focus illustrations make this picture book a delight "
Paperback In Stock £7.99 £7.19
View All Editions (2)
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month September 2023
The deliciously light touch of author/ illustrator Jon Agee deadpan humour makes a good joke out of a girl’s determination to get a dog.
Assuming it will be easy so she visits an animal shelter to choose the exact one she wants. So sure is she of her purchase that she even takes a cart so that she can easily get it home. But things don’t go according to plan. The man in the animal shelter offers her an anteater, a baboon and a python adding all kinds of suggestions as to their possible dog-like characteristics.
None will serve. Can they come to a compromise? They can! And readers will learn that pets are not always what you think they will be…
A simple text and warm-hearted, soft focus illustrations make this a delight.
One little girl is determined to find her perfect pet at a wonderfully unusual animal shelter. The Copley County Animal Shelter has an aardvark, a lizard, a goose, a weasel, and plenty more. But do they have a dog? Our little girl has even turned up with a trolley to take home a dog - and she will not take 'no' for an answer!
Read the full description
This hilarious subversion of the standard you-cannot-have-a-pet trope is a wonderful read-aloud text with repetition and build up of drama.
The fun of the story could even lead to a wider discussion about what pets it is really possible to have.
'Agee, an absurdist of long and beloved standing . . . knows how to build on and milk a fine premise. This is a very fine one . . . and Agee's cartoonish but deadpan watercolors strike just the right comic tone.' - The New York Times Book Review
'This is a great storytime read-aloud and a wonderful addition to any library collection. This cheerful story is sure to inspire bouts of laughter from young children.' - School Library Journal
'Agee's cartoon drawings of the hapless animals are winning, but it's the child's implacable resolve that sees the story through.' - Publishers Weekly
'Beginning readers will love the child's firm reiteration of priorities . . . This entertaining, engaging read makes the most impossible pets seem...well, possible.' - Kirkus
'Agee ( The Wall in the Middle of the Book , 2018) brings his unique charm and gentle absurdity to an otherwise-straightforward dialogue . . . his artwork elevates the story, rendering so much humor(and, somehow, pathos) through deceptively simple expressions and gestures. With Agee, readers are always in for a treat.' - Booklist
'The charm here is in the subversion of the standard you-cannot-have-a-pet trope, with the youngster playing the practical, no-nonsense realist, and the grownup tending toward the outlandish and frantic.' - BCCB
Praise for Little Santa;
‘The kind of book around which traditions can be built – a classic in the making – and will be read and enjoyed in many families for years to come. Books for Keeps
Praise for Lion Lessons;
‘This funny picture book is about a little boy in a lion suit who gets seven lessons from a real lion in how to be one. He doesn’t do too well on the roaring and the prowling, but when it comes to protecting a friend, he turns out to be lion-hearted. Full of wit, both visual and verbal.’ Sunday Times
Jon Agee is the author and illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including Life on Mars , Lion Lessons , Little Santa and The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau .
He has been long listed for the UKLA award with The Wall in the Middle of the Book and It's only Stanley , and in America he has won an Irma Black Honor, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor and much more. Jon's life sales are over 2 million copies. He is also the creator of a series of popular wordplay books, beginning with the collection of palindromes: Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog!
Jon grew up along the Hudson River in Nyack, New York, and went to college at The Cooper Union School of Art in New York City. He now lives in California with his wife, Audrey.
Terrific and Milo's Hat Trick between them have won New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Books, ALA Notable Book, Horn Book Fanfare, PW Best Books of the Year, Book Sense Top Ten Pick and LA Times Best Children's Picture Books Miami Herald Top Ten.
We've got some great stuff related to this book in our KidsZone. Head over there and check it out now.
Woof! Best Children's Books for Kids Who Love Dogs
The UKLA Book Awards 2025 Longlist has been announced
the best picture books · the best bedtime stories
Gordon Starts a Band
Rabbit and Bear: This Lake Is Fake!
Gordon the Meanest Goose on Earth
Rabbit and Bear: A Bad King is a Sad Thing
Rabbit and Bear: A Bite in the Night
One little girl is determined to find her perfect pet at a wonderfully unusual animal shelter. The Copley County Animal Shelter has an aardvark, a lizard, a goose, a weasel, and plenty more.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed I Want A Dog and determined it is suitable for children aged 3-6 years old
I Want A Dog features in the following genres: Featured Books for 3+ readers, Featured Books for 5+ readers, Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month, Recommendations, Funny, Animal Stories, PSHE: Self-Awareness, Self-Esteem and Wellbeing, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Paperback, Hardback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
I Want A Dog was written by Jon Agee and published by Scallywag Press
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
©PTC International Ltd T/A LoveReading is registered in England. Company number: 10193437. VAT number: 270 4538 09. Registered address: 157 Shooters Hill, London, SE18 3HP. Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer
The National Year of Reading starts here. Join thousands of families and schools supporting reading for pleasure across the UK.