Illustrated in black-and-white. When her parents can't afford a new pet, seven-year-old Janie invents one. Her new pretend dog is Henry, an invisible Great Dane who eats invisible food bought with invisible money. Then some mysterious events--and perhaps a touch of magic--bring the invisible Henry to life.
My Thoughts: This book was recommended to me by a third grader. She insisted that I read it because she absolutely loved it. Her passion towards the book and the book's cover won me over. I knew this was an easy read since it was tailored for children of 7 to 10 years, but I kept an open mind. I have to say, this was not too shabby.
This was a cute story of a girl who wanted a Great Dane. It was interesting to read how this little girl was very polite and respectful even though her parents told her that it was too expensive to get a dog. Instead, Janie, the girl, imagines up a dog named Henry after she found the collar of a previous dog her parents used to own. What was most curious was how her neighbor played along with Janie. It made me wonder if the old neighbor was pretending to "see" a dog in order to appease Janie or if she really did see a dog. The story was sweet and simple, and I can see why young children may like it.
However, there is a DISCLAIMER for teachers and parents. This book uses a lot British dialect, which may be confusing. It uses the B word two times in the book. Even though the word is used in the appropriate way to describe a female dog, with today's mindset, this may not bode well with many parents. Luckily my student did not pay too much attention to this word.
As a whole, this was a decent children's book. I Sharpied the B word from the book because I felt that my students should still be able to read this cute story. I rate it:
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