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Mar 27, 2010

Abby rated it:

This is the story of Sam, a pedigreed dachshund with a rare Duuglitz tuft. Meant to be a show dog, he soon escapes the clutches of the overbearing Mrs. Nutbush and elects to follow an orphan named Heidy who is going to live with her uncle. But when Sam steals the attention away from the champion standard poodle Cassius, Cassius will get his revenge. What ensues is a wild and wacky adventure as the flawed dogs decide to claim what is rightfully theirs.

This book read just like an anim More...

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Apr 24, 2011

NebraskaIcebergs rated it:

If it weren’t for the writing, I might have enjoyed Flawed Dogs The Novel by Berkeley Breathed. Its message, like that of Breathed’s picture book, is one everyone should read. But where the picture book conveys this message through cute illustrations and whimsical verse, the novel warps this message through bitter heroes, violent storyline, and a writing style that is sometimes painful to read.

Parts of the plot work. Sam the Lion, a dachshund featured in the picture book, escapes from More...

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Feb 27, 2011

Miss Pippi added it

The idea of Flawed Dogs is very catchy. Who doesn't want to see an underdog succeed? The adorable dachshund on the cover with a ladle for a leg peaked my curiosity. I am sad to say that the story didn't meet my expectations. The storyline jumped between scenes quickly. Many times I hit rewind to repeat sections of the novel. Johnny Heller read very well. Sadly, Berkeley Breathed wrote a choppy novel that has a time setting of three years <spoiler> (with a year unwritten because of the horr More...

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Dec 27, 2010

Emily rated it:

Allow me to set a scene for you, review reader. Picture a comfy couch covered in snuggly blankets where a reader is perched with two miniature dachshunds ready to read a book featuring another wiener dog. Picture the reader clutching the two dogs close as she reads the opening scene. Sam (the book's main character) has laid his long, broken, little body on the floor of a dog fighting ring. That, my friends, is how I read this book. I had to hope that Sam was going to make it and we were all goin More...

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Sep 24, 2009

William rated it:

Flawed Dogs by Berkeley Breathed

A fairy tale illustrating that everyone or every dog should have it’s day. That regardless of size, shape or breed overweening ambition can corrupt and unconditional love can console. A perfect dachshund becomes flawed, despondent, abandoned and maligned. He conquers all and returns in triumph. It is a story of acceptance and redemption.

You may not recall Opus the penguin or Billy and the Boingers but Berkeley Breathed has been arou More...

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Sep 24, 2010

Cornmaven rated it:

I loved this book. Having said that, it must be pointed out that at times it's pretty dark and violent. So I shelved it with middle school and high school. I also think the themes would be better understood by that age group rather than younger kids, even though reviews peg it younger. I just don't agree with them. I agree with other reviewers that the language level is higher than the reviewers' views.

The notion of imperfection being a desired quantity is a well known theme in m More...

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Jun 07, 2011

Melissa rated it:

Flawed Dogs is by far the best new book I’ve read all year.

On a recent trip from one U.S. coast to the other, I spent all six take-offs and all six landings with my nose buried in the pages of one book or another, trying to concentrate on the words instead of the terror. Thanks to inclement weather that caused me to miss my last connecting flight, I had to stay over in Denver. On standby the next day, I found Flawed Dogs in the airport bookstore. It was the only one of the books I re More...

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Nov 01, 2010

Shelby rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Oct 10, 2009

Lisa rated it:

You’ve heard the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”...well that certainly applies to this book. Why? The cover gives the prospective reader the impression that the “read” will be a delightful romp with man’s best friend, but Flawed Dogs is anything but that.

Being a huge animal lover myself, I bought this book hoping to be entertained, and I was not. The first chapter has Sam, the main dog (character) and dachshund, being placed in the ring to fight a pit bull. When he rea More...

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Dec 03, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

I'm not the kind of mom who troubles herself too deeply about the contents of books or movies. My kids aren't watching the Saw series, but if they enjoy the Nightmare Before Christmas or find Futurama funny, so be it. We began reading Flawed Dogs to our five-year-old, and after the first few disturbing chapters I had to read ahead to make sure that this was a book we could finish reading to him.

This book broke my heart several times. I knew this was going to be a problem when the bo More...

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Feb 22, 2011

Jacki rated it:

Sam the Lion, a unique daschund, finds himself in the arms and heart of Heidy, quickly adopted into her family and loved. Loved, by everyone that is, but Cassius the prize-winning poodle who sets out to destroy Sam and remove him from the household.

The story that follows is sad and does not always show the best of human nature. As a children's book, a parent will have decide how honestly they wish to show the possible life of a stray dog to their children. Having rescued all of ou More...

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Oct 21, 2011

Vicki rated it:

Actually a 3.5. I was expecting more from this little book as I love all of Berke Breathed's creations. I think what was lacking was character development in this fairly predictable story of dogs-done-wrong seeking revenge and finding themselves on the way. I didn't care about the characters as much as I should have in a kid's book. Still, it had it's wonderful moments of genius, such as the mad escape from the life of a show dog that Sam makes using an electric airport cart as his getaway vehic More...

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Jun 29, 2011

Sherrie rated it:

This is the first of the 15 Sunshine State Young Reader Award (SSYRA) books that I've read for this year, and it's a great one. This is the story of a very rare variation purebred dachshund who is doublecrossed by a vengeful poodle intent of winning all dog shows. This sends him from his happy home to a nightmarish three years in a research lab. Upon escaping the lab, badly scarred and missing a leg, he seeks other "flawed" dogs to join him in taking over the Westminster Dog Show an More...

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Mar 08, 2010

Mary rated it:

I liked this book but the vocabulary is a little high for 3-5 grades.
Pulitzer Prize-winning Berkeley Breathed's first illustrated novel!
Sam the Lion is actually a priceless dachshund, bred to be a show dog. More important, he is Heidy's best friend—and she needs one like never before. Living with her reclusive uncle is hard, but Sam has a way of making her feel soft and whole. Until the day Sam is framed by the jealous poodle Cassius, and is cast out by Heidy's uncle, alone on the w More...

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Oct 10, 2009

Shanshad rated it:

Oh my. Well, anyone familiar with Berkeley Breathed would likely already know his skills as a storyteller. Flawed Dogs just reinforces this knowledge. Anyone with a love of dogs, an animal story, or a just a good story with a wicked sense of humor and a huge sense of heart will enjoy this brief but worthwhile book. Highly cinematic in its telling, I fully expect to see a movie crafted from it in the future, but I will be content with the book and its marvelous pictures.

My only cav More...

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Jul 28, 2011

Robert added it

What a delightfully fun entertaining read. Only wished all illustrations were in color. Breathed is much better in color. Though there are dark overtones within the story, Breathed skirts some of the very scary stuff with implied courtesy and acknowledgement and admission of just how scary the subject matter can be. Enjoy tremendously the terrific sense of humor expressed by Sam the Beagle in his communications and throughout the book's illustrations as well. A great and valuable lesson in More...

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Aug 06, 2010

Whitney rated it:

I agree with another reviewer that this book can't be judged by it's cover. In fact, after reading it I can say that it hardly belongs on the shelves among other pre-teen books. With topics as gruesome as dog fighting, maiming & mutilation, and the mention of selling dogs to laboratories where the horrors they experience should only be left to the nightmares of children, it is certainly not an appropriate read for impressionable minds.

Dog-lovers and animal-lovers in general will find More...

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Oct 06, 2009

Jacqie rated it:

I really love Bloom County. This book just sat wrong with me for some reason. I heard Berk Breathed speak, and he said that he believes that kids' books should take one into the valley of hard emotions so that one can climb out again. I agree that kids don't need to be coddled or shielded from negative emotions. But this book started off with a dachshund being flung into a fighting dog pit and lying down to die in despair. I've got a soft spot for animals, and I had a hard time with that on More...

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Jun 07, 2011

Tom rated it:

This was a book I very much wanted to like. I've been a Berkeley Breathed fan since Bloom County's first days and a book written (and illustrated!) by him should have such potential.

It was good to find that Berkeley Breathed's book-length writing was as good as some of his more prose-heavy Bloom County comic strips. The problem, however, was that Sam's story seemed a bit cobbled together. There were many strong scenes but the transitions seemed to me missing for me. There were stre More...

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Oct 15, 2010

Jonah rated it:

I am still reading this book but so far it's pretty good. It's a bit jumpy and its not in chronological order most of the time but the story line is good. The author is also author of opus and many other books and cartoons. The book is about a dog named Sam who is a very rare breed of dachshund called the duuglitz tuft dachshund who finds a girl named Heidi and comes with her to her uncles dog ranch where a poodle named Cassius lives. Soon after Sam arriving Cassius gets jealous of him and the a More...

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Jan 22, 2010

MiriLou rated it:

The cover art caught my attention and when I realized it was written by Berkeley Breathed, creator of Bloom County, I had to give it a try. It looked like it would be a fun book to read out loud to my 7-yr-old son who likes dogs. Well, not so much. The vocabulary is above his level and the story gets really dark-the dog goes through some pretty horrific experiences. But some of Breathed's typical offbeat humor is still there including the funniest lines I have read in a long time:

More...

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Dec 04, 2009

Cindy rated it:

Sam the Lion is a dachshund that is a show dog, living only to make his owner happy. Heidy is an orphan who is sent to live with her Uncle Hamish. Heidy and Sam are very happy living with one another under Uncle Hamishes care. Then one day the house keepers poodle decides to frame Sam for misbehavior and he is sent away. He is sent to a pound for unadopted dogs and is very unhappy with his situation and decides to break out. Then he finds himself in even a greater predicament. This is a fu More...

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Oct 01, 2010

Jeff rated it:

There are two things you need to keep in mind about me:

1) I'm not really a dog person.

2) I'm not really into Berkeley Breathed.

Neither of these things are especially surprising if you know me, but the reality is that these two issues probably impacted my ability to enjoy this book. It follows a dog and his pretty terrible struggle that brings him from a family to a dogfighting ring and back again, and it really felt uneven and strange and uncomfortable. Kids More...

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Nov 24, 2009

Kerri rated it:

One of my favorite pictures books to use with my students is Flawed Dogs by Berkely Breathed. The pictures alone are worthy of a fun writing assignment. Well, he has followed that up with a novel that includes all the funny yet flawed characters from that book. This book is kind of like a prequel to the picture book and explains how they arrived at the last chance dog pound where that book takes place. It is a very sweet, sometimes sad, look at the life of a dachshund named Sam the Lion. Mi More...

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Jun 29, 2011

Megan rated it:

This was a phenomenal story of a daschund who accidentally befriends an orphaned girl going to live with her uncle. Due to some jealousy issues with a Show-Poodle, Sam the Lion (the daschund) and Heidy are separated. Over the next several years Sam undergoes several different "homes" and loses a leg in the process. He befriends a few other flawed dogs and concocts a plan to seek revenge on the Show-Poodle at the annual Best in Show at Westminster, New York. I loved the story line, the More...

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Jun 28, 2011

Ren rated it:

For a child's novel, I thought that Flawed Dogs had lovely prose and was also quite inappropriate for the suggested age group. It does not have the same cutesy tone as the preceeding poetry book, but is an engaging read nonetheless, if not a bit stilted by the confines imposed by being intended for younger audiences (limitations of character development, fast pacing to suit the small number of pages, simplistic themes, bias, etc.). If you are a diehard Berkeley Breathed fan, it is worth reading. More...

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Nov 18, 2010

Kirsten rated it:

This was a great read-aloud book for my 4th grade gifted and talented class. It was appropriate for their age level, but had challenging vocabulary and a lot of thought-provoking issues to discuss. I would not recommend it for students lower than 4th grade, however, because it shows what terrors plague the lives of many "peopleless" dogs, such as animal testing and dog fighting. There were times when the kids and I were all crying. We enjoyed talking about the themes of the book, a More...

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Feb 04, 2010

Chelsea rated it:

This was actually a pretty entertaining book. A three legged dachshund seeks revenge on the poodle who stole his life by leading a group of abandoned misfits in a plot to crash the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Breathed grotesque drawings are alternately hilarious and heart-wrenching. For all its fun, however, Breathed has missed the mark on his audience. I really can't see a 4-7 grader enjoying this book. The humor is decidedly grown up and some of the events and illustrations are profoundl More...

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Jan 28, 2011

Molly rated it:

This book may seem weird at first because the pictures and back are misleading you to realizing the true engaging text in between the lines. It's hard to explain this book in away that makes it seem serious. When your reading this book you feel like your watching everything happen. Berkeley twists words into everything in your wildest dreams. This book is a true heart warming novel with fight for love and reading gives you a complete new prospective on things in life.

More...

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Oct 26, 2011

Cindy rated it:

Chapter 19 simply broke my heart. It took me two days to muster the courage to read on. If you are the adult, and a kid you love is reading this book, be prepared. It may be (my husband thinks) that, as an adult who has campaigned against lab experiments on animals, and who is aware of what suffering, in our real world, is comprised within those two or three short pages, I am more effected by that short chapter than the kids, 8 to 12, who are the intended readers.

That is the only rea More...

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