Talk, Oscar, Please!

by Karen Kaufman Orloff, Tim Bowers

A dog is a man's (and a child's) best friend--but it's tough when your best friend can only bark, yip, growl, and howl!
Young readers will empathize with this sweet and funny story of a boy who begs his dog to talk. Tim Bowers' humorous pictures give a glimpse of what life might be like if dogs could crack jokes, chat on the phone, and even sing lullabies!

Genres: Picture Books, Dogs, Animals, Pets, Childrens, Friendship, Storytime

24 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

Karen Kaufman Orloff is the author of many books for children including I Wanna Iguana, I Wanna New Room, and I Wanna Go Home, all inspired by her son’s pet iguana who quickly grew to be over four feet long and take over his room. She also writes a humorous column on family life every other week for The Poughkeepsie Journal.

Reviews

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and relatable story about a little boy who wishes his dog Oscar could talk and imagines all the ways they would have fun together if Oscar could talk. It’s fun and imaginative but I just can’t get into it because of the rhyme scheme. It follows the AABB rhyme scheme which I find is overly used and relied upon in children’s books and tends to make the story lower quality as authors force rhymes. It also sounds unnatural to the way the boy telling the story would speak. The illustrations are cute and funny so that’s a plus.

[Sunhopes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk Oscar, Please! captures the deep love between a dog and his person. The writing is beautiful and engages kids right away in imagining what it would be like if Oscar could talk. The illustrations deepen the feeling of how wonderful the relationship is. This is a children's book that I have given to children and to adult dog lovers. All, including my vet, love it! Don't miss the author's dedication that further illustrates the importance of friendship.

[Kristina Phelps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiction
PreK-1
This is a heartwarming book about a little boy and his dog, dachshund Oscar. Throughout the story, the young boy imagines what it might be like if Oscar could talk and all the things he might say. This story is writing in a rhythmic rhyming pattern and is a joy to read and listen to.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fun rhyming book about a boy and his dog's friendship. The boy begs for his dog to talk and all the great times they'd have if he could. This picture book is a great short story for children to read as it is easy and interesting.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy asks his dog to talk so that they can converse in different situations, cute.

[Spike's Place · Rating 5 out of 5]

Click here to place a hold at the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library

[Kelsey Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVE this book, "Talk, Oscar, Please!" by Karen Kaufman Orloff, and illustrated by the talented Tim Bowers, and feel that it would be a wonderful candidate for the 2011 Caldecott award. The book tells the story of a little boy who wishes so badly his dog, Oscar, could talk to him. He then thinks about what it would be like if Oscar could go to school with him, coach his soccer team, go out to lunch with him and his mom, be on a TV show, talk to his vet, and do other things. The pictures beautifully illustrate each thought the boy has throughout the book with bright colors, and full paged pictures, adding comedy to the story, and understanding for children to see each event. I love this story because it is very easy to relate to for both adults, and children, and I find that kids could sympathize with the boy in the story wishing his dog could talk to him. Overall, a great book that, in my opinion, has potential to win the Caldecott!

This book was published by Sterling Publishing, in March of 2011.

[Erin Brockway · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a little boy who really wants his dog to talk. He thinks about all the things that they could do if only his dog would just talk. In the end though the boy realizes that his dog does not need to talk to him because he already knows what the dog is thinking. They are best friends and they do everything together. I really liked this book, it showed how a dog is a man's best friend. The illustrations help to bring the text to life and it uses rhyming throughout the story. I would use this book in my classroom to get children thinking about friends and how they should be treated even if they are a little different.

[Ashley Vance · Rating 2 out of 5]

A boy wishes that his dog, Oscar, could talk, because then, they could go out to eat together, attend school together, and play sports. This is a short and soft story of a man's best friend.

I would recommend this book for second and third graders because some of them could relate to having a pet and the others could imagine what they would do with their pet if it could talk.

This book could be implemented when teaching rhyming and you could add pet care in it, as well.

Orloff, Karen Kaufman, and Tim Bowers. Talk, Oscar, please!. New York: Sterling, 2011. Print.

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! Many times I have told my dog if she could talk in a people voice we would have great conversations and I would know so much more about her. We are very close and in tune with each other regardless.
This was a pure delight to read out loud to a group of Kindergarteners visiting the Library. They enjoyed the book as much as I did. One little boy said "Oscar can eat ABC soup to learn the alphabet."
This is a most delightful book. One of my top favorite childrens books.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

Talk, Oscar, Please! is an amusing book that combines a boy’s love for his dog with rhymes imploring Oscar, the dog, to please just talk! Author Karen Orloff weaves clever rhymes throughout the pages that place Oscar the dog in imaginary situations where it would come in very hand if he just talked to his owner, a young boy. Any child who loves rhymes and animals will surely love this book for its wit and hilariously imaginative scenarios with Oscar, the dog who just won’t talk.

--Kelly S.--

[Michelle King · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. A dog lover will appreciate this book. This book is about a little boy who has a dog named Oscar. He wishes Oscar could talk. You could use this book in writer's workshop. You could read it to the students, have them discuss it, and then write a few sentences about their favorite pet and one thing they wish they could teach the pet to do.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have a dog if he could be just like Oscar. I am not a dog person, but Oscar is adorable. The little boy who narrates wants to be able to talk to his best friend. They are going to have so much fun when Oscar can talk. I won't spoil the surprise, but you will want to do all of these things with Oscar, too. Oscar is beautifully drawn. His expressions are wonderful.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cute rhyming book has become one of my 4-year-old's favorite books! He loves shouting "please" at the end of each page.

Excerpt from the book:
"A dog that could talk would be totally cool!
I bet I could bring you along to my school.
You'll start out real simple, with your ABCs.
But first you should learn how to talk,
Oscar--please?"

[Katie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk Oscar Please is a very cute book about a boy who wants his dog to talk. He goes through all the fun and cool things that would happen if Oscar would just talk. In the end he realizes that he understands Oscar anyway because they are friends. It has good examples of personification and repeated phrases.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I first have to admit I absolutely adore dogs! The snappy dialogue by Karen Kaufman Orloff is great and would be wonderful to read aloud. The illustrations by Tim Bowers are likewise great! His illustrations of Oscar, the dog, in all sorts of positions are just adorable and incredible. This is a wonderful book for everyone except those people who dislike dogs.

[Hope Mullinax · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like many people, this book reminds me of how much I love my dogs. I think children will effortlessly make text-to-self connections if they have ever had or wanted a pet. After begging his dog to talk, in the end, he realizes that Oscar already knew what the boy was saying, feeling and thinking, oeven though he couldn't talk to the boy.

[Brandi Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talk Oscar Please is about a little boy who wishes his dog could talk. If his dog could talk then he could go to school with him, play on the baseball team, and even eat lunch together. The story ends with the boy realizing that even though his dog wont talk he knows what he's saying because he is his best friend.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy spends his time with his dog begging him to learn to talk and thinking of all the fun things they could do if he would just talk....and then realizes true best friends don't always need to talk, sometimes just being together is enough.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was cute in the sense that the little boy wanted his dog oscar to talk to him. I do have an issue with how the book is structured. The sentences rhyme and almost have a sing-songy flow to them. It goes against how people speak and how quality books are set up.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little boy begs his best friend Oscar the dog to talk and explains all the things he could say if it happened.

A good follow-up writing activity would be for students to share what they would have a dog say if it could talk.

[Aleisha Pendleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really cute. I love rhyming books so that made it even better. I love the friendship that is in this book between Oscar and his owner. This would be a good book to help children not only learning rhyming words but about friendship.

[Christopher Skelskey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good read aloud to highlight rhyming words. It also is a good stepping off point to discuss using your imagination. The kids enjoyed the story and even continued to talk about it later in the day.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story to emphasize "giving evidence" for an argument. A young boy comes up with a lot of good reasons why it would be very cool if his dog could talk. Illustrations are charming and students will relate to this young character's urge to commune with his pet.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations were fun. Liked how Orloff wraps it up at the end.

[Linda Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oscar is a love, and Bower's illustrations bring it perfectly together.

[Stefani · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first thought after reading: Awwww. A boy wants his dog to talk, but it looks like they have fun adventures, even without words!

[Wendy Jones]

This is a cute story about a boy who wishes that his dog could talk to him. He tells the dog all the great things they could do together of his dog, Oscar, could talk. Students enjoy this book.

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son's name is Oscar and he loves that this book has HIS name in it. The illustrations are wonderful, and the rhyming is PERFECT.

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

there was no story