Who Wants to Be a Poodle, I Don't

by Lauren Child

Book Overview

Lauren Child takes the lead with this wry and wooly tale of a pampered poodle who just wants to paddle in puddles like REAL dogs do. Trixie Twinkle Toes lives in the lap of luxury, with every creature comfort a manicured paw away. Adored by the glamorous Mademoiselle Brulee, the little poodle has a maid to plump her pillows and a cook to prepare her nibbles. But Trixie isn t happy. She doesn t like the puffing and poofing and preening. She doesn t like being dressed in little pink ponchos. She wants to be dazzlingly dangerous and daring. She wants to step in puddles With a witty text that scampers across the pages and hilarious mixed-media illustrations, Lauren Child offers a one-ofa-kind treat sure to entice both spirited little readers and deeply devoted dog-lovers alike."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0763646105
• ISBN13: 9780763646103
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.3" x 10.7"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Review from www.firrkids.com

I have always loved Lauren Child's style. From her wild and frequent patterns selections to her use of assorted fonts, her style exhibits a particularly lovely sense of whimsy. Geometric black and white print drapes meet abstract pink walls and green cabbage print wallpaper. The effect is definitely striking rather than jarring. I particularly like this book because the main character is the divinely glamorous Mademoiselle Verity Brulee, who lives in a sumptuous apartment and likes everything to be "just so." Of course, being a lady of leisure means her hobbies include shoe shopping and ... more shoe shopping. Of course, her dog is a fluffy little white poodle, named Trixie Twinkle Toes Trot-a-Lot Delight. Unfortunately, Trixie is not the sort of dog who appreciates her name or living in the lap of luxury. Trixie may not look the part, with her fluffy white coats and perfectly poofed tail, but she craves a life of adventure! Her dream is to prance through puddles, not to be sprayed by perfume. Trixie is being squashed by her life and finally decides she must take action. After reading (I guess this dog can read) an article titled "How to Change Your Dog Image," she feels emboldened to take action. Trixie puts her plan into action by becoming dangerous and daring. She catches fleas and chews the neighbors newspaper. She slides straight down the banister and leaps onto the chandelier. Finally, Trixie runs through the raindrops and dives into the deepest puddle to save a smaller dog. Suddenly, Verity Burlee sees her pooch in a new light and understands what Trixie needs. And from then on, the pair are sure to venture outside every day that it rains. The story is cute, but it's Child's illustrations that steal the show. I love the pairings of flowers with checks and the mad jumble of each page. Your eye won't know where to look first - it's a virtual playground of pattern and font. And the book has a wonderful happy ending with Trixie being able to convey to her owner what will make her feel alive.

Fun, textured illustrations and an adorable story

Trixie is a Poodle by breed, but just a dog at heart. Her own loves her and would do anything for her, but Trixie can't say to her, "I want to get dirty and play in the rain and take a walk on the wild side." This is the story of Trixie trying to communicate that point. The illustrations are mixed media and the lay-out of the text is fun and creative. Trixie's personality really comes through and my favorite image is her at the beauty parlor. It lets you know that she probably doesn't mind the pampering on occasion, but who doesn't like some spoiling at the end of the day? My second favorite illustration is Trixie on the therapist's couch. Extra points for the fact that Poodles were originally hunting dogs and the traditional cut was to protect their joints from cold while in the water. Trixie just wants to be true to herself!

Adorable Artwork

When I first saw WHO WANTS TO BE A POODLE I DON'T by Lauren Child, I thought the cover was absolutely gorgeous. Of course, I am a sucker for the color pink and cute little dogs; but the cover was textured for the dog's curls and the collar even had a fake rhinestone embedded in it! It was just too adorable -- and "very girly" according to Booking Son! Despite my son's initial impressions of WHO WANTS TO BE A POODLE I DON'T, he actually ended up really liking the book. I did too! We both came to the same conclusion about this story, but I'm not entirely sure it was for the same reasons. We both liked the story, but I think he liked the dog and I liked the presentation. I think it's safe to say that WHO WANTS TO BE A POODLE I DON'T is a picture book that can appeal to kids of all ages! The story is just precious. A very-pampered poodle decides that she doesn't want to be a poodle -- she just wants to be a normal dog and play in puddles. Booking Son truly appreciated that a dog wouldn't want to be dressed up in raincoats and forced to stay inside unless the weather was nice. He loved that the dog eventually was able to play in puddles and just enjoy being a dog! As I read this book to my son, I thought the pictures were terrific. I liked this illustrations of the dog, Trixie Twinkle Toes Trot-a-Lot Delight, and her owner Verity Brulee; however, I absolutely loved how the entire story was presented. Each page looked as if the characters and objects were cut-out of patterned paper; and the text was all different sizes and wrapped around the pictures. The entire time I read this book, I kept thinking that the characters looked familiar and they reminded me of something. It wasn't until a few days later that I realized Lauren Child is the creator of the Charlie and Lola books -- it all made sense! I definitely recommend WHO WANTS TO BE A POODLE I DON'T to preschoolers, elementary age kids, parents, and teachers. It's a beautiful book that also has an entertaining story, and it's perfect for reading aloud. In fact, I was excited to find that there are activities geared towards this book including a connect-the-dots, a matching game, and a word find. It really is a perfect book for teachers to feature in their classrooms.

The illustrations are an absolute delight, and the story is good too! 4.5 Stars!

We love Lauren Child. We own just about every "Charlie and Lola" book she has written, and those books are loved and asked for as a bed time story on a regular basis. She is an author who can capture the thoughts and personality of every character she writes about, and this book is no different. To start, you have to love the name Trixie Twinkle Toes Trot-a-Lot Delight--the given name of the poodle owned by one Verity Brulee. Just like the uppity name sounds, poor Trixie is stuck living in a world with an owner who thinks that everything in life is meant to be perfect and for show. Verity does not venture out in the rain, for fear of ruining her designer shoes, and she employs a butler AND a maid for the sole purpose of taking care of Little Miss Trixie. The problem is, Trixie does not want to be pampered, poofed, preened or perfumed. She feels trapped in a world of doggie salons, psychics, and her own doggie psychiatrist. Trixie longs for a life of fun and adventure--she wants to be a daring and dangerous dog like the ones she hears howling outside her apartment at night--not a poodle trapped in a penthouse. As Verity and Trixie are leaving the doggie psychiatrist one afternoon, the rain is pouring down and Verity has no choice but to go out in to a storm she would rather avoid. Puddles are everywhere, and this is Trixie's opportunity to take a daring leap in to the water and live the life she has dreamed about. (Albeit, she also did it to save another dog from inevitable drowning.) Verity's shoes get ruined in the process, but she learns an important lesson about what really matters in life, and to let her hair down a bit. From that point forward, Trixie and Verity scan the daily weather forecasts to look for rain, and promptly head out if it is. And all is right in Trixe Twinkle Toes Trot-a-Lot Delight's world. Well, everything but the silly name. This is a story with a moral, and it is presented in a wonderful manner. My favorite part about this book is the artwork. It is absolutely phenomenal. Child uses mixed media illustrations that are out of this world that really brings the story to life. The artwork has texture and beautiful patterns, and her colors are vibrant and bold. After I read the book to my daughter, I went back to the beginning of the book and looked at just the artwork from cover to cover; I avoided reading the story all together just so I could really take a good look at all the beautiful (and FUN!) designs she included in the book. Her text winds across the pages and makes the book a lot of fun to read. But, that brings me to the reason I gave this 4.5 stars and not 5. On some of the pages, the artwork was so "busy", that you lost sight of the text, and in some cases, we missed entire sentences that were buried in the illustrations. Other sentences or words were just hard to read as they got caught up in the artwork. I point this out, so that if you are someone who has bad eyes, or finds things l

A FUN REMINDER TO BE TRUE TO YOURSELF

Londoner Lauren Child has a wonderfully appealing imagination that children cannot resist. She's the creator of Clarice Bean, that wise, inquisitive, and smile provoking elementary school girl, and other books for young readers. She counts the Kate Greenaway Medal among her many awards, and now introduces Trixie Twinkle Toes AKA Trixie Twinkle Toes Trot-a-Lot Delight. Trixie is a poodle owned by Mademoiselle Brulee who is very wealthy and wants everything just right, including Trixie. So, Trixie has pillows plumped for her, a cook who prepares her nibbles, and even a dog psychiatrist on the ready when necessary. Truth is that Trixie doesn't enjoy the visits to the pet beauty parlor. "She didn't like the perfuming, the powdering, or the pompoms." What Trixie would really like is to be like any other dog and able to chase things in the park and plop in puddles. Deep in her heart Trixie doesn't feel the least bit "poodley." But, there seemed to be no way that she could convey this to her mistress. Trixie tries all manner of things but nothing seems to work until......... And, that's the surprise. This is a fun story for youngsters filled with colorful illustrations by the author. - Gail Cooke