McDuff Goes to School

5 Responses to “McDuff Goes to School”

1. Victor Morris says:

   October 24, 2009 at 5:59 am

   We have three of the books in this series and love them, but were very disappointed with this book. Yes the illustration are beautiful as with the other books, but about half the text is in French. I’m sure that’s great if you speak French but its miserable for those of us who don’t. German or Italian would have been fine but I couldn’t even stumble through the French and the story was mostly lost as a result.
   Rating: 2 / 5
2. M. Mulcahey says:

   October 24, 2009 at 6:19 am

   I have all the previous books in this series and would recommend them to everyone. I also have both scotties and westies, and Wells and Jeffers capture the spirit, expressions and body language of these dogs perfectly. The stories are very cute and have been very popular with the children I have tested them on. McDuff is an adorable character and I hope to have new volumes soon!
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. Lawrance M. Bernabo says:

   October 24, 2009 at 8:58 am

   For some reason I am having problems finding a list that puts the McDuff books in order. I know that “McDuff Moves In” was the first book in the series, written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Susan Jeffers. I thougth that “McDuff Goes to School” might be the second book in the series because once Fred and Lucy (not Ricky and Ethel) let this cute little white-haired dog into their lives I figured that sending him to obedience school was the logical next step. But “McDuff Goes to School” was published in 2001 and that puts it after “McDuff Comes Home,” “McDuff and the Baby,” and “McDuff’s New Friend.” That involved a bit of on-line research, but the fact that there was a baby in the house was a big clue that this adventure took place after “McDuff and the Baby” at least. Where “McDuff Saves teh Day” and “McDuff’s Wild Romp” fit into the chronology is not yet clear to me, but I will work on it.

   “McDuff Goes to School” tells what happens when a new family, the De Gaulles, moves from Barkedelphia into the house next door to McDuff at number nine Elm Road. McDuff discovers a new dog, a black Scottish Terrier named Marie-Antoinette has moved in as well, and Lucy and Fred learn that Celeste and Pierre de Gaulle speak French. So when Lucy says, “Hello,” Celeste responds with “Bonjour.” Inside the De Gaulle’s new home when Marie sits on the sofa Celeste orders her to jump down, lay down, and stay, but she does it all in French. When Lucy and Fred discover that McDuff does not obey command (in English; they do not try French), they decide he has to go to obedience school. Celeste and Marie decide to go to the school too.

   What is interesting is that because Lucy is too busy with the baby and Fred is too tired from working all day, that neither of them has time to practice with McDuff. So it is Celeste who practices every day with Marie, learning how to heel, sit, stay, and come. On the other side of the fence McDuff is watching the lessons and when he starts obeying the commands, given in French, he gets a liver truffle, just like Marie. Meanwhile, Lucy and Fred are aware that McDuff is not doing well in school and when graduation day comes he does not obey their commands.

   I really like this illustrated children’s story for two reasons. The first is that young readers will see where the story is going and anticipate the ending, which is a good thing because they will be happy they were smart enough to figure it out. The second is that Celeste speaks French throughout the book and although there is a Glossary in the back that explains that “assieds-toi” means “sit” and “viens” means “come,” there are no direct translations in the main story. However, the meaning of each phrase is clear from what is being said so that kids can make the connections. Beyond that, you have the benefit that if young readers, ages 2-5, can learn the French commands to give a dog to heel, jump and lie down, then they might be interested in learning other foreign words and phrases, whether they are French or something else. The earlier you get kids interested in speaking a foreign language the easier it is for them to pick it up. It is too late for me to do so, but hopefully you can get this book to your beginning reader when it can help them on that particular path.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. Jeanne R. Stanis says:

   October 24, 2009 at 9:01 am

   Two new elements have been added to the wonderful McDuff books: Marie Antoinette who is a charming French Scottie and the use of French phrases for obedience training. Grandpa read the book last night to our granddaughters, aged five and seven. They listened well to the story and spent about 30 minutes attempting to get our Westie to respond to “sit” “stay” and “lie down” in French. The girls enjoyed saying the French words, too. Tres Bien, again, Rosemary & Susan!
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. N. Spann says:

   October 24, 2009 at 9:59 am

   The five stars are for the book, not the illustrations in this current edition. I love all the McDuff books. I used to have a Westie and so they really captured my attention. I started buying them before my granddaughter was born and started reading them to her very early in her life. She absolutely loves them and asks me to read them to her over and over again. However, I am disappointed in the illustrations in the latest editions of the books (like this one). They are not the same as in the earlier editions yet the illustrator is the same. Why is that? The earlier editions had wonderful illustrations that looked exactly like the Westies, but the newer editions are different. They look very cartoonish. Please bring back the “old look” and please ask Rosemary Wells to write more books to be illustrated as they used to be. Thanks.
   Rating: 5 / 5