Chester the Out-Of-Work Dog

by Marilyn Singer, Cat Bowman Smith (Illustrator)

When the Wippenhoopers move from their spacious farm to a cramped city apartment, Chester, their border collie who was accustomed to herding sheep, feels unneeded.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Dogs, Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Marilyn Singer was born in the Bronx (New York City) on October 3, 1948 and lived most of her early life in N. Massapequa (Long Island), NY. She attended Queens College, City University of New York, and for her junior year, Reading University, England. She holds a B.A. in English from Queens and an M.A. in Communications from New York University.

In 1974, after teaching English in New York City high schools for several years, she began to write - initially film notes, catalogues, teacher's guides and film strips. Then, one day, when she was sitting in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, she penned a story featuring talking insect characters she'd made up when she was eight. Encouraged by the responses she got, she wrote more stories and in 1976 her first book, The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn't, was published by E.P.Dutton & Co.

Since then, Marilyn has published over seventy books for children and young adults. Her genres are many and varied, including realistic novels, fantasies, non-fiction, fairy tales, picture books, mysteries and poetry. She likes writing many different kinds of books because it's challenging and it keeps her from getting bored. She has won several Children's Choice and Parents' Choice Awards, as well as the following: the Creature Carnival, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book, 2005; I Believe in Water: Twelve Brushes with Religion, New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age," 2001; Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2000 (YALSA); On the Same Day in March, Booklist's Top Ten Science Books of 2000; NCSS-CBC Notable Book, 2000; Deal with a Ghost, finalist, YA category, Edgar Award, 1998; It Can't Hurt Forever, Maud Hart Lovelace Award, 1983; The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 1983; Turtle in July, NCTE Notable, N.Y.Times Best Illustrated and Time Magazine Best Children's Books of 1989; Turtle in July was also a Reading Rainbow review book.

Marilyn currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband Steve; their standard poodle Oggi, a cousin of their beloved and recently departed poodle Easy, seen in the home page photo; a cat named August ; two collared doves named Jubilee and Holiday; and a starling named Darling. Her interests include dog training, reading, hiking, bird-watching, gardening, meditation, playing computer adventure games and going to the movies and the theatre. She's also a major Star Trek fan.

Reviews

[Melki]

What's a border collie to do when he's moved away from the flock he's used to tending?

Find SOMETHING to herd, that's what! His search for new sheep is pretty cute, and the artwork by Cat Bowman Smith is a treat. You'll be rooting for this dog who likes to stay busy.

Dog's NEED to have jobs, even if it's just waiting for the school bus to pull up every day.

[Ina]

Chester, the dog, has trouble adapting to City life - he misses the old family farm and the sheep he used to herd. The illustrations are laugh-out-loud funny as he "herds" pigeons, garbageman, and police officers into all the wrong places. Chester is easy to love and the reader will want to cheer when everything turns out OK and there is a very happy ending.

[Danette]

11/25/19 Read with Julia.

[Lisa]

Hannah was "VIP of the Week" (October 11-15, 2010) at school. She brought home a bag, a dog puppet and 4 dog books for the week. She loved all the books!

1 of 4

When I think of a children's paperback book I think of a very short story, with one or two sentences on each page. This book had paragraphs on each page, which threw me off at first. The beginning is sad, with the Wippenhoppers leaving their farm, and Chester (the dog) having no work (nothing to herd). Chester "finds" work in the city by herding pigeons, squirrels, fireman, policeman and others. I don't quite understand how Chester could herd firemen into a fountain and policemen up a statue, but Hannah didn't seem to mind. There were a few illustrations where Chester looked like a rabid dog... namely on Wednesday and Friday. I think as a child I would have been a little scared by this fact, but again, Hannah didn't seem to care. For the two above reasons, this book is a 4 star and not 5.

I didn't understand why the school had such a long name, and why each time they mentioned the school, they would refer to it by it's full name. But in the end I understood why. I loved the end of the story... and Chester's new employment.

[Becky B]

Chester is an excellent sheep dog, happy with his job and his place in life when his world turns upside down. His family sells the sheep farm and moves into the city, putting Chester out of a job. He soon tires of having nothing to do, and so he tries herding various things in the city (which ends up hilarious or disastrous depending on whose point of view you take). Eventually Chester decides he would be better off just trying to return to his sheep on the farm, but on the way he runs into some lost kids and soon Chester finds a new place for himself in the city.

This would probably be a good pick for kids going through a move, as they will identify with Chester trying to figure out how he fits into his new situation and longing for his old home. Of course, all kids should love the touch of humor and the escapades Chester whips up as he tries to herd things in the city. It's a cute story about dealing with changes.

[Beth]

Chester loves his Wippenhoops family and sheep. The family sells the farm and moves to an apartment. Walking on concrete is painful and the noise hurts his ears. He misses working on the farm and as he tries to run away he helps the cast of the Wooly Bully play find the elementary school. Chester gets a job as the school crossing guard.

[Pauline]

hahahah that explains why some dogs in the city are very grumpy, they are bored but at last Chester used his farm experience to save the kids who were lost. Funny story...

[Debra]

A long story but I was surprised that Chester captured my almost two year old granddaughter's attention throughout. Chester does what any self-respecting dog does is wants a job. Chester finds his new job and is loved by all.