The Dog Who Wouldn't Be

Rating:
Summary: Bring it back into print!
Review: I was astonished to find "The Dog Who Wouldn't Be" is apparently out of print in 2001. I easily found a copy in the Springfield, Illinois city library, but it ought to be buyable in the marketplace for those who want to have it and keep it.

Have you ever wondered what your grandfather was like when he was a boy? The "yarns" and stories in this book may give you some clues. Don't believe for one second that all the adventures related in this book are strictly true. Mowat is a great storyteller and he, like Mark Twain, took his memories and made from them something great and wonderful.

This book declares war on all of the cats of the world, as one of my fellow reviewers has correctly noted. Cat lovers beware! You won't like this book. For everyone else who wants an idealized window on the lives of boys growing up in the 1930s and 40s, take a look. The boys you see in this volume are not boys any more. They are grandfathers. They won't be around forever. If you want to know and love them better while they are still here, read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Bring it back into print!
Review: I was astonished to find "The Dog Who Wouldn't Be" is apparently out of print in 2001. I easily found a copy in the Springfield, Illinois city library, but it ought to be buyable in the marketplace for those who want to have it and keep it.

Have you ever wondered what your grandfather was like when he was a boy? The "yarns" and stories in this book may give you some clues. Don't believe for one second that all the adventures related in this book are strictly true. Mowat is a great storyteller and he, like Mark Twain, took his memories and made from them something great and wonderful.

This book declares war on all of the cats of the world, as one of my fellow reviewers has correctly noted. Cat lovers beware! You won't like this book. For everyone else who wants an idealized window on the lives of boys growing up in the 1930s and 40s, take a look. The boys you see in this volume are not boys any more. They are grandfathers. They won't be around forever. If you want to know and love them better while they are still here, read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best book ever written.
Review: I've read more complex and demanding books but never have I enjoyed a book more. Mowat's "The Boat who wouldn't float" comes in second.

Read it to your kids. Im going to read it to my kids as soon as it arrives. I've lost my copy (lent it out and it didn't return) so I'm ordering a new one today.

Rating:
Summary: A must for anyone who loves animals.
Review: My family discovered Mowat when I was in my teens and we read as many of his works as we could find. The Dog Who Wouldn't Be particularly touched all of us, adult and child alike, because we all love dogs (and people) who are just a little different!

Rating:
Summary: very well written book
Review: Summary: The true story of naturalist Farley Mowat and the first love of his life, his dog Mutt. Mowat relates excerpted tales from his childhood, most of which center around his unusual dog, Mutt. Mutt seems to be a once-in-a-lifetime kind of dog, whose unusual personality manifests itself in everything from duck hunting to cat chasing. Towards the end of the book, with the majority of Mutt's exploits behind him, the book expands to include stories of other pets, most notably a pair of great horned owls. The final chapter has the inevitable death of Mutt, although the details of his demise under the wheels of a runaway truck aren't given graphically.
The Good and the Bad:
I didn't really enjoy this book very much, although my age might have something to do with it. Actually, I don't even believe that because the completely unnecessary verbosity asks for a certain amount of sophistication from the reader, and anyone smart enough to swallow the big words is probably not going to be open to the message. The grand verbiage is related to my other big problem with the book, which is that the mythic legends of the dog are almost certainly inflated. Mowat instills his dog with so much human character and emotion that it would have been more believable if it turned out to be a man in a dog suit. Yet, he pooh poohs another naturalist for "presuming to know what an animal is thinking," with no apparent irony. Also, Mowat's sense of humor and self-importance are both extremely irritating. The humor is like a broad physical comedy in its lack of subtlety, and it's couched in so many words that it sounds like a foppish English gentleman failing miserably at a dinner conversation.
On the positive side, it did seem like Mutt was a special dog, hyperbole aside, and it was interesting to get slice of life stories about a budding naturalist in Canada in the 1930s.


Rating:
Summary: The Dog Who Wouldn't Be
Review: The Dog Who Wouldn't Be
By: Farley Mowat
Reviewed by: Catherine Li

This book describes the life of a boy (Farley) with a dog named Mutt. Mutt was adopted by the author's mother when he was a puppy and was found by a boy who was selling baby ducks. Mutt was a very unique dog because he had excellent hunting skills. He could dive really deep to catch ducks under the water. Whenever the author's Dad fired his gun to hunt birds, Mutt could always retrieve a bird back even if the author's Dad missed his shot. Besides his hunting skills, he had ability to walk on fences, ladders, and trees - just like a cat! The first time he tried to walk on a fence he fell, but he kept trying until he was able to master his balancing skills on a narrow fence. Mutt was a very determined dog.
I really enjoyed reading this book because the writing describes a lot of details. The writing is very descriptive, and I could picture all the events in my mind. I love the huge vocabularies the author uses to make the sentences complex. "A swirl of muddy water marked his passing, and in the center of the swirl thee was a whitish blob that twisted back and forth lethargically." The author writes lengthy and quite difficult sentences. I remember when I tried reading this book a year ago, there was at least five to ten words I did not understand.
The author described the hunting skills and tricks Mutt could do in very expressive writing. Each chapter was extremely long, however I never got bored and kept reading. The events the author chose very amusing and thrilling. For instance, "The last jump took him well into deep water, and he began churning forward like an old-fashioned stern-wheeler." This book is so descriptive that it make the readers feel like they were really living in the Canadian plains.
I found this book very fascinating, especially when Mutt learns how to climb ladders, trees, and fences. My favorite section of this book is when Mutt climbed on top of a tree and there was a group of firefighters surrounding the tree. This section of the book is amusing because everyone thought it was a huge monster in the tree. Two people were holding guns and they called the firefighters to this event. It is a book worth reading. It has humorous stories and touching events. I really enjoyed reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: The Dog Who Wouldn't Be
Review: The Dog Who Wouldn't Be
By: Farley Mowat
Reviewed by: Catherine Li

This book describes the life of a boy (Farley) with a dog named Mutt. Mutt was adopted by the author's mother when he was a puppy and was found by a boy who was selling baby ducks. Mutt was a very unique dog because he had excellent hunting skills. He could dive really deep to catch ducks under the water. Whenever the author's Dad fired his gun to hunt birds, Mutt could always retrieve a bird back even if the author's Dad missed his shot. Besides his hunting skills, he had ability to walk on fences, ladders, and trees - just like a cat! The first time he tried to walk on a fence he fell, but he kept trying until he was able to master his balancing skills on a narrow fence. Mutt was a very determined dog.
I really enjoyed reading this book because the writing describes a lot of details. The writing is very descriptive, and I could picture all the events in my mind. I love the huge vocabularies the author uses to make the sentences complex. "A swirl of muddy water marked his passing, and in the center of the swirl thee was a whitish blob that twisted back and forth lethargically." The author writes lengthy and quite difficult sentences. I remember when I tried reading this book a year ago, there was at least five to ten words I did not understand.
The author described the hunting skills and tricks Mutt could do in very expressive writing. Each chapter was extremely long, however I never got bored and kept reading. The events the author chose very amusing and thrilling. For instance, "The last jump took him well into deep water, and he began churning forward like an old-fashioned stern-wheeler." This book is so descriptive that it make the readers feel like they were really living in the Canadian plains.
I found this book very fascinating, especially when Mutt learns how to climb ladders, trees, and fences. My favorite section of this book is when Mutt climbed on top of a tree and there was a group of firefighters surrounding the tree. This section of the book is amusing because everyone thought it was a huge monster in the tree. Two people were holding guns and they called the firefighters to this event. It is a book worth reading. It has humorous stories and touching events. I really enjoyed reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: The Dog Who Wouldn't Be
Review: The Dog Who Wouldn't Be
By: Farley Mowat
Reviewed by: Catherine Li

This book describes the life of a boy (Farley) with a dog named Mutt. Mutt was adopted by the author's mother when he was a puppy and was found by a boy who was selling baby ducks. Mutt was a very unique dog because he had excellent hunting skills. He could dive really deep to catch ducks under the water. Whenever the author's Dad fired his gun to hunt birds, Mutt could always retrieve a bird back even if the author's Dad missed his shot. Besides his hunting skills, he had ability to walk on fences, ladders, and trees - just like a cat! The first time he tried to walk on a fence he fell, but he kept trying until he was able to master his balancing skills on a narrow fence. Mutt was a very determined dog.
I really enjoyed reading this book because the writing describes a lot of details. The writing is very descriptive, and I could picture all the events in my mind. I love the huge vocabularies the author uses to make the sentences complex. "A swirl of muddy water marked his passing, and in the center of the swirl thee was a whitish blob that twisted back and forth lethargically." The author writes lengthy and quite difficult sentences. I remember when I tried reading this book a year ago, there was at least five to ten words I did not understand.
The author described the hunting skills and tricks Mutt could do in very expressive writing. Each chapter was extremely long, however I never got bored and kept reading. The events the author chose very amusing and thrilling. For instance, "The last jump took him well into deep water, and he began churning forward like an old-fashioned stern-wheeler." This book is so descriptive that it make the readers feel like they were really living in the Canadian plains.
I found this book very fascinating, especially when Mutt learns how to climb ladders, trees, and fences. My favorite section of this book is when Mutt climbed on top of a tree and there was a group of firefighters surrounding the tree. This section of the book is amusing because everyone thought it was a huge monster in the tree. Two people were holding guns and they called the firefighters to this event. It is a book worth reading. It has humorous stories and touching events. I really enjoyed reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest books I ever read.
Review: This book had me laughing out loud time after time. I've been buying and lending this book to people for years. The tales of this remarkable dog and the Mowat family are entertaining, hilarious, and eventually touching.

Rating:
Summary: Not just for children anymore
Review: This book is clasified as a childrens book and while my children have read and enjoyed it, I have shared it with many of my adult friends. It is truly a book for all ages. I am fortunate to have the hardback edition but I have ordered no less than ten paperback copies over the years and I give them to people who love animals. If you are one of those people who have, at some time, shared a special bond with a pet, you should read this book.