Sleepy Pendoodle

by Malachy Doyle and Julie Vivas

Book Overview

This lively and rhythmic read-aloud about a new puppy will delight young pet lovers. Pendoodle the puppy still hasn't opened his eyes, much to his young owner's frustration. Luckily, Uncle Hughie knows just what to do-but can the little girl remember his instructions to wake up her sleepy pup? With engaging illustrations of multicultural characters by Julie Vivas, Malachy Doyle's story warmly portrays a child's experience with a new pet. The cadence...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0763615617
• ISBN13: 9780763615611
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.5" x 9.7"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

Sweet little book

This book is really fun to read because of the rhythm of the words. In the book, a little girl finds a puppy dog and takes very good care of him but is puzzled because he won't open his eyes. So she asks her uncle what she should do and he tells her to scrub her hands and say a special words to the dog. Well, the little girl gets the words mixed up but sits down and thinks for a while and is finally able to remember just what her uncle told her to do. The only complaint I have is that the little girl's eyes look a bit strange (creepy) in a few pictures but my little girl enjoys the book anyway.

Eyes wide shut

I respect illustrator Julie Vivas. So while her pictures are all well and good, I have to admit that usually they do nothing for me. I appreciate their beauty and composition but that's normally the extent of my emotional attachment to them. Yet even in my neutral Vivas state, I have to admit that "Sleepy Pendoodle" really touched me. A sweet story of pet care, the book cleverly combines a bouncy catchy narrative with delightful adorable pictures. This is one of those picture book pairings of author and illustrator you wish you could find more often. One day our heroine (an unnamed but a spunky kid) finds a puppy alone and forgotten in an alley. He is, "a funny little, bonny little, lost little pup". She takes him in and feeds him but the pup refuses to open his eyes. Distraught she goes to her Uncle Hughie who appears to be roughly twenty years of age. Hughie gives the girl strict instructions on how to open the puppy's eyes. She must scrubby-scrub her hands and put him on her knee. Then she must say, "Open your eyes, Sleepy Pendoodle! Open your eyes, you pup!". The little girl runs home in a flutter but becomes so distracted by the passing people that she forgets her uncle's instructions. Did he say for her to scrub her knees? Or was she supposed to put the puppy on her back? Finally she gets the instructions right and the viewer is rewarded with a glorious and shocking two page spread of the puppy with his eyes open wide. Soon he's running and playing like any other canine. On the final page we see a large dog with a leash in his mouth and the words, "And now he's a big red dog". A very Clifford-like ending. The text is irresistable. This is just the kind of story whose cadences lend themselves to multiple tellings. And the illustrations compliment the text fairly perfectly. To my mind, there is nothing to compare with the shot of the puppy finally opening his eyes. Vivas has outdone herself here. Sleepy Pendoodle is almost life-size in the shot and he's held in a most adorable fashion by the girl's chubby hands. This book is ideal for story times, you know. If you need a crowd pleaser with a fun plot, enjoyable words, and some really striking illustrations, grab yerself a little, "Sleepy Pendoodle". He's quite a pup indeed.

For the love of a puppy...

A young girl has found a new puppy. He is so new his eyes are not even open. A humorous look at the effort put forth to get the young pup to open his eyes ensues. Julie Vivas? (I Went Walking and Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge) illustrations are bright, cheerful, and makes you want to hold a new puppy. Most appropriate for preschool to second grade, but anyone who has ever loved a new puppy will enjoy this great read aloud.