Help Me, Mr. Mutt!

April 21, 2008
Every dog has its rough day now and then, which in this high-energy picture book calls for a letter to Mr. Mutt, Canine Counselor. Whether addressing a dog put on a diet by his people, or a pooch who's scolded for barking too much, Mr. Mutt offers a written note of nuts-and-bolts advice (to the hungry dog, he recommends searching the trash, etc.) and anti-cat commentary. His snooty, tiara-wearing cat companion, The Queen, takes issue with his “catty remarks,” writing rebuttals on pink stationery. Similar to Mark Teague's Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School
in both theme and epistolary format, this sister act's (The Great Fuzz Frenzy
) effort lacks LaRue
's narrative flow and clever situational humor. Stevens's mixed-media scenes of the pets' ultimate altercation contain the most fun: The Queen demonstrates her prowess with a digitally manipulated ball of yarn as she, taking umbrage at a feline insult, keeps her canine cohort too “tied up” to help his correspondents out of the doghouse. Ages 3–7.

May 1, 2008
Gr 2-4-With tongue firmly in cheek, the dynamic Stevens sisters have crafted a multilayered story that looks at various situations in the life of an average dog. Through a series of letters to Mr. Mutt, a doggie version of Dear Abby, the text invites readers to learn about the tribulations of "Underplayed in Utah" or "Famished in Florida" and the encouragement they garner from their correspondences. Each letter has its own distinctive style depending on the complaint and the writer's personality but all end with a postscript that refers to the treatment or behavior of cats in the household. Mr. Mutt ends each reply with his own postscript that refers to the cat that shares his home. Here, the book rises to another level of humor with the inclusion of additional commentary from "The Queen," the supremely superior feline who keeps Mr. Mutt in his place. The tension between them builds throughout the letters until a physical confrontation occurs near the end of the story. Mr. Mutt's replies to the dogs in distress include many sketches of "illustrated tips" as well as a variety of graphs to substantiate the advice. While the story will find fans in the primary grades, its most appreciative audience will be among more sophisticated readers who will recognize the amount of effort that went into this creative venture. It's a great read just for fun, and teachers will find a wealth of ways to incorporate it into lessons on letter writing, newspapers, and presenting information through graphs."Maura Bresnahan, High Plain Elementary School, Andover, MA"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.