“Can I Be Your Dog?” by Troy Cummings.
Random House, New York, 2018, 32 pages, K-3.
Friendship is one of the great gifts in life. Friends help us through tough times and encourage us to succeed. Acquaintances are different than friends. Unlike friends, acquaintances share some common experiences with others, but never really develop any deep personal connections.
In elementary schools, parents are happy when their son or daughter brings a friend home to the house. This tells the parents other children like their child. But sometimes, friendships can be hard to come by. This can lead to loneliness and sadness. As well, the lonely person can try so hard to develop friendships that others can be put off.
Troy Cummings has written an animal story about this problem. In the story, we see all the problems with not having friends and desperately wanting them. The name of this award winning, humorous book is “Can I Be Your Dog?”
Arfy lives by himself in a run-down dog house near Butternut Street. On Butternut Street there are a number of nice houses that Arfy spies out. Using his penmanship, he writes a letter to the Honeywell family living in the yellow house. They look like such a nice family and he is sure that they will want him to be their dog. He lists his many traits, such as having his own squeaky toy and is willing to learn to like their cat. Signing it with his paw print, he sends the letter.
The pleasant letter carrier takes it to the house. Unfortunately, the Honeywells tell Arfy their cat is “um” allergic to dogs. Crushed at their rejection, Arfy sends the next letter to the woman running the butcher shop and asks “Can I be your Dog?” The butcher lady quickly rejects Arfy as well. She tells him the last time a dog came into her store, a dozen meatballs went missing.
Arfy keeps writing the letters and the lovely letter carrier takes them to all the houses. She begins to notice Arfy and wonders why no one wants him. The firehouse rejects him, and more neighbors send back rejection letters. Finally, Arfy just sits back in his falling-down dog house and howls in sorrow. But the next day, he receives a letter from a person interested in having him as a pet. The only condition is that he go to the blue mailbox the next day. The next day, Arfy begins running toward the mailbox. What happens?
Who wants Arfy? Does Arfy find a friend? Have you ever felt lonely and without friends? Why is making friendships one of the most important parts of our lives? What brings Arfy joy? To find out, go to the library and check out this tender, loving book, “Can I Be Your Dog?” by Troy Cummings.
“Can I Be Your Dog?” won the Golden Sower Honor Award in 2020. The Golden Sower Award is voted on by the school children of Nebraska and is based entirely on the popularity of the book. Cummings has written a delightful book which is full of humor. You just have to pull for Arfy as he tries to become someone’s pet. The illustrations are hilarious and the ending is endearing. I hope you get a chance to read this fun book with a younger member of your family.
