Dan And Diesel :

by Charlotte Hudson, Lindsey Gardiner (Illustrator)

Red Fox Edition

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Disability

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Donna Gofur · Rating 2 out of 5]

Witness the beautiful friendship Dan shares with his wonder dog Diesel.

Dan and Diesel do everything together. Dan feels he can conquer the world with Diesel by his side, until one day, Diesel gets taken away by 'whiskers', who sell wonder dogs for money and Dan's world is turned upside down. Diesel uses his 'wonder' skill to cross the big bad city to find his way home and eventually be reunited with Dan.

This book was fantastic, as a follow on from what my Reception class were learning in literacy, which was to understand how pictures can tell a story and describing how characters might be feeling.
This book had great illustrations, the children quickly gathered the close bond Dan shared with Diesel, the 'wonder' qualities Diesel possessed and how Dan and Diesel felt when they were apart.

The book presents a great opportunity for children in EYFS to talk about and understand different types of emotions and feelings they may experience.
It gives us a good opportunity as (future) teachers to understand our class children a little better and equip them with information about how to deal with these feelings.

[Jill Westerbur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan and Diesel is a moving childrens picture book filled with information and emotion. Dan’s little brother narrates the tale of Diesel the ‘wonder dog’ and his relationship with his blind owner. Dan and Diesel do absolutely everything together. They are terrified at the prospect of becoming separated. The illustrations and vocabulary show this. One day, their worst fears are realized when Diesel is stolen. Dan is devastated and is trapped at home without his guide dog to assist him. But Diesel the ‘wonder dog’ manages to escape from his captors and make his way home. Reunited with his dog, Dan once again feels like ‘conquering the world’. Children can learn a lot about blind people while reading this book. I give it a 5 star rating as I found it to move me in many different ways and teaches many valuable lessons. It is one of my favorite children's books.

[Sami Westrick]

I this book, it shows that when Dan is with his Diesel he can do anything. Such as go shopping at the market, play jazz in the Boogaloo band, and climb mountains, and finally draw pictures in his head. This his dog, his best friend. But one day he was disked away in a big black van. They finally become reunited, at the time, Dan had become blind, and now Diesel is his guide dog. In the book, it explained in sensory imagery how Dan and Diesel live their lives together. Showing great details with words and pictures. Showing the importance of Diesel to Dan being blind and needing his guide dog. I would rate this book a 4 because it has great detail, and a great meaning/story behind it for children to learn from.

[Paxton Bleich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written children's book displaying friendship to no end. Dan has a "wonder dog" named Diesel. They are the best of friends and do everything together. Dan feels very confident with Diesel by his side and thinks he can "conquer the world". Dan's world turns upside down when Diesel is stolen. Diesel uses his "wonder" skills to help be reunited with Dan. Only when the do become reunited it becomes clear to the reader than Dan is blind and Diesel is his guide dog.

This book I gave 5/5 stars. It moves me to know and see that we don't always know what people are going through. It was not obvious that Dan was blind, but that is his life and was apparent when Diesel was stolen.

[Kayleigh Muligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan and Diesel is a beautiful, emotional story told about a young blind boy and his wonder dog. Dan and Diesel do everything together. Without each other, they are lost. One day Diesel is stolen and Dan wonders if he will ever be able to do the things that he loves with his dog again. Two of those activities include going to the Swingtime Café and making music. Diesel is described as a "wonder dog" and that he is. He manages to escape and finds his way home to his beloved owner Dan. I gave this book a 5 star rating because it shows how even with a disability, you can still conquer anything you put your mind to. The illustrations stood out to me and were very creative. I loved how the author used the text and incorporated it into the pictures. It was a very moving story and showed a heavy bond between Dan and Diesel.

[Grant Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really makes you think! Diesel is a dog and Dan's best friend, this dog is wonderful because to Dan he can do everything. Then one day Diesel is kidnapped by a big black van and Dan must be brave although he misses his dog. While Diesel is away we learn that Dan is blind and cannot cross a street, so the dog is his service dog. The "wonder" dog breaks free from the city and tracks his way home back in to Dan's open arms. This was a great read.

[Brayan Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is amazing to me. It is about Dan who is blind and Dissel is his guide dog. He helps him move around. His dog goes everywhere with him and it is not known until the end that Dan is blind. The pictures are very nicely done and the story is very catching.

This book is very good to be used in the classroom. It would be very common that a child would see a dog with a service vest on or just seeing a dog where they would not typically see them. It would be a good chance to bring a service dog to the classroom or another service animal. That way they can see that other animal can be service animals such as a pig.

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good pictures and well told story. I was a bit disappointed that there were no pictures of Diesel in harness until the end- I think it would have been helpful to see the difference between diesel 'working' and not working- guide dogs do not work the whole time, so the park was likely to be play time for instance. Why be so coy? Anyway, a good one.

[XIS Grade 3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like it because the pictures are very pretty. (Maya)

The first time we read the book we didn't know why Dan needs Diesel. But the second time we read the book, we learned that Dan was blind and Diesel was a guide dog. (Debbie)

It's very special that Dan was blind. (Linda)

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

*read for an assignment*
A super sweet tale of a boy and his guide dog. This book showed the importance of guide dogs in people's lives and the kind of connection people have with their service animals. Great representation of blind individuals as well.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Sweet, sappy and subtle.

[Josh Vaculik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan and diesel is a story about a kid and his guide dog. When Dan is with diesel he can go anywhere and do anything. The story teaches kids the importance o fa guide dog and what exactly a guide do does.

[Aubree Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing I noticed about this book was the illustrations, it was very colorful and the words on the page played with the pictures. I really liked this book because it is told by Dan's brother and it is just a bunch of pictures of different things Dan does with his dog Diesel. His brother explains the bonds between Dan and Diesel and says that no matter what else Diesel is offered he would never chose to lose Dan. One day Diesel is taken away and Dan is devastated, but Diesel smells his way home. Diesel is Dan's guide dog, and Dan is blind. They are the best of friends and say that together they can do anything.

I gave this book four stars because I thought it was super cute, the only thing I would say is if it were younger kids reading it the words sometimes get lost in the pictures.

[Asmaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan and Diesel is story told from Dan's little brother's point of view. Dan has a dog called Diesel and they do everything together, until one day, Diesel is taken away. Dan tries to be brave but does not want to do anything without Diesel. Diesel is a wonder dog and finds his way back to Dan by the end of the story.

What is not immediately apparent, is that Dan is blind and Diesel is his guide dog. The story tells us that Dan and Diesel are important to each other and the illustrations also show that when Diesel is not with Dan, the world is a less brighter place.

This book is ideal for introducing additional needs, as well as exploring our feelings if something/someone that we relied on was taken away. The book is well illustrated, making it ideal for EYFS and KS1.

[Claire Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan and Diesel is a lovely story of the friendship between a boy and his dog. The pair do everything together! Diesel can ride on trains and on tubes. When Dan is with Diesel he feels as though he can go anywhere and do anything, he can climb up mountains and draw pictures in his head. One horrible day, Diesel is taken away in a big black van. At this point the illustrations become dark and sad. Luckily as Diesel is such a wonder dog, he escapes and returns to Diesel.

The reader discovers that Dan is blind and Diesel is his guide dog. The book was used in my SBT1 school in assembly as a way of discussing children who may have additional needs.

[Marika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan y Diesel was a sweet story. Told from the perspective of Dan's little brother it tells about the relationship between Dan and his dog Diesel. The perspective of a younger sibling really adds to the story. The illustrations are colorful and cute, filling the whole spread. The text of the story adds another visual element to the story, filling in spaces in the illustrations and sized in order to add tone.