Raise your hand if your child loves pets and everything animal-related! Bryan Davis has given younger readers a jolly adventure in this dog-focused series. Humans and pets are learning to communicate as people study “dog” or “cat” like a foreign language. Can you imagine being able to truly understand your beloved pet? Read on for more details!
Age Recommendation
First things first–who is the intended audience for Davis’s Not So Famous Dog Tales? In general, age 6 is a pretty safe minimum age, but this guide should help parents make that final decision. A bad guy’s gun is pulled on the good guys once in two of the books, but the scenes are brief and resolved before you know it. Children over age 8 or 9 might feel they stories are a little cheesy and “below” them but could very well still love them. All five books would make great family read-alouds due to their overall brevity, clean language, and comedy–it’s fun to laugh together!
How Long Are the Books?
Speaking of brevity…each book is a short chapter book that I classified as a Level 3 Bridge Book (see the Bridge Books list here). They would be a little difficult for readers transitioning from picture books for the first time, but there are also audiobook options (I’ve seen them on Hoopla and Audible but have not listened to them). Here are some numbers:
Book 1: 10 chapters / audio 1h,7m
Book 2: 9 chapters / audio 1h,4m
Book 3: 8 chapters / audio 59m
Book 4: 10 chapters / audio 1h,7m
Book 5: 8 chapters / audio 58m
More Details on What This Series is About
The Barkley family is a family of four who is on a hunt to find a better job for the dad, Steve. They want to find something the whole family can do together, so the first four books have him pursuing different types of jobs with wife, daughter, and son by his side. The fifth book is mainly about which job sticks!
The mom, Emily, is Homeschool Mom Extraordinaire (my words). The stories are full of exaggerated homeschool humor that all ages will get a kick out of.
Steve is the first to learn to understand dogs, but Emily and the kids are picking it up quickly themselves. Each day they job hunt, they are pulled into a local problem needing to be helped, and their “foreign language” helps tremendously. From an apartment building fire to a mysterious thief to rescues, they couldn’t have done what they did without the help of dogs (and sometimes cats).
Reading Order
I recommend reading the books in the order they were published, because they do all build on each other somewhat. It’s not absolutely vital, but I don’t think we would have enjoyed the later books as much had we not read the first ones first. So read them in this order:
- All Dogs Go to 7-Eleven
- Mission Impawssible
- If You Give a Dog a Dictionary
- A Series of Unfortunate Dogs
- The Wizard of Dogs
Pun-Tastic
If you haven’t already figured it out, Bryan Davis is a master of puns. Besides all five titles being plays on words (All Dogs Go to Heaven, Mission Impossible, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Wizard of Oz), the stories are full of them. It’s the Barkley family’s little tradition, in fact, as they rank each other’s puns on a regular basis. It’s all very lighthearted and amusing…but then I have always been a fan of dad jokes!
What Types of Dogs Are in the Story?
Children become extra excited when a story has their own type of pet. There are a few cats in the series, but as dogs are the main animal, here are some of the breeds mentioned:
- Beagle
- Border Collie
- Chihuahua
- Cocker Spaniel
- German Shepherd
- Golden Retriever
- Great Dane
- Greyhound
- Labrador
- Lhasa Apso
- Pekinese
- Russian Wolfhound
- Schnauzer
Let’s Talk Illustrations
All right, here is something that might bug people, though it didn’t bother me. Davis used A.I. to design his own illustrations for this series. It’s noted on the copyright page outright, but it’s obvious anyway. Sometimes people will look quite realistic (with that A.I. glow) while other pictures have large-eyed cartoonish people. It’s a bit all over the place in quality, but honestly, kids will love it. The animals are irresistibly cute, and the intended reading age won’t notice what we adults notice.
If your children are artsy, here is a one-click download to illustrate their own covers for each book as they read them.
Are These Christian Books?
The author, Bryan Davis, is a Christian, though I couldn’t tell you doctrinal specifics. There are very few mentions of God and religion in most of the Dog Tales, with the exception of the final one having a written-out prayer and giving God glory–and it’s done well. As with all my reviews of Christian authors, especially living ones, here’s a fresh reminder to always be good Bereans. Make sure what is portrayed as Christian actually is. I found no issues in that regard within this particular series.
And now on to the book summaries!
Book Summaries for the Not So Famous Dog Tales
Book 1: All Dogs Go to 7-Eleven
My rating: ★★★★☆
– full review –
– buy the book –
A man who can understand “dog” helps a German shepherd find his owner after becoming separated in a building fire. The whole family pitches in with creativity and enthusiasm.
Book 2: Mission Impawssible
My rating: ★★★★★
– full review –
– buy the book –
The Barkley family is summoned (by a golden retriever) out to a lighthouse island where their help is greatly needed. They battle crows and cats, brush up on their rock climbing skills, and work together to save a life.
Book 3: If You Give a Dog a Dictionary
My rating: ★★★★★
– full review –
– buy the book –
Readers are welcomed into a nursing home, where a border collie’s owner is recovering. Steve’s scheduled job shadowing quickly morphs into a crime-solving affair which involves multiple pets, quick-thinking humans, and plenty of comedic relief.
Book 4: A Series of Unfortunate Dogs
My rating: ★★★★☆
– full review –
– buy the book –
It’s not just one dog that needs help in the fourth book! Several dogs’ belongings keep disappearing, so they ask Steve and his family to hunt down the thief. Young readers will be surprised who it is!
Book 5: The Wizard of Dogs
My rating: ★★★★★
– full review –
– buy the book –
After a dramatic rescue from drowning, the community comes together to thank the Barkley family in a big way. This final book is busy fun as loose ends are tied up and dreams begin coming true.
Recommend Further Reading
Did you and your children love this series? Here are some other favorites of ours with a similar difficulty/intensity level:
- Anna Hibiscus (Atinuke)
- Betsy-Tacy (Lovelace)
- The Canada Geese Quilt (Kinsey-Warnock)
- The House on Walenska Street (Herman)
- Out of Darkness (Freedman)
- The Treasure Hunt (Willis)
Click here to see more beginner chapter books (especially levels 2 and 3).
That’s All, Folks!
A funny, upbeat story with a functional family and cheesy puns sometimes just hits the spot! I hope you and your children are able to enjoy these five stories and that this guide was helpful. Here is a link re-cap:
Printable: Book Summaries
Printable: Draw the Covers
Author’s Website
Buy on Amazon: Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, Book 4, & Book 5
Happy reading!