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How to Train Your Dad
A misadventure about a boy, his free-thinking dad, and the puppy-training pamphlet that turns their summer upside down.
Twelve-year-old Carl is fed up with his father's single-minded pursuit of an off-the-grid existence. His dad may be brilliant, but dumpster-diving for food, scouring through trash for salvageable junk, and wearing clothes fully sourced from garage sales is getting old. Increasingly worried about what schoolmates and a certain girl at his new school might think of his circumstances--and encouraged by his off-kilter best friend--Carl adopts the principles set forth in a randomly discovered puppy-training pamphlet to "retrain" his dad's mindset . . . a crackpot experiment that produces some very unintentional results.
Twelve-year-old Carl is fed up with his father's single-minded pursuit of an off-the-grid existence. His dad may be brilliant, but dumpster-diving for food, scouring through trash for salvageable junk, and wearing clothes fully sourced from garage sales is getting old. Increasingly worried about what schoolmates and a certain girl at his new school might think of his circumstances--and encouraged by his off-kilter best friend--Carl adopts the principles set forth in a randomly discovered puppy-training pamphlet to "retrain" his dad's mindset . . . a crackpot experiment that produces some very unintentional results.
186 pages, Hardcover
First published October 5, 2021
75 people are currently reading
2142 people want to read
About the author
Gary Paulsen
409 books3,984 followersGary James Paulsen was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction, best known for coming-of-age stories about the wilderness. He was the author of more than 200 books and wrote more than 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his lifetime contribution in writing for teens.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 223 reviews
January 10, 2025
You can almost always tell by the title when you have a Gary Paulsen comedy on your hands, and How to Train Your Dad is no exception. Twelve-year-old Carl Hemesvedt has an unusual lifestyle: he and his father live in a trailer on a few acres by the river, leading their day-to-day in something resembling material poverty, but you'd never know it by the attitude of Carl's father. Skilled with his hands and mind, he cobbles together homemade versions of nearly everything he and Carl needs or wants, though the finished product isn't visually appealing. Never getting a new bike or cool clothes from the store has rarely bothered Carl...until this summer, when he starts paying attention to her. Peggy is a girl he has known most of his life, but suddenly Carl feels the profound urge to impress her. The problem? The Hemesvedt lifestyle is not likely to attract the average tween girl.
Carl and his best friend, Peter Haskell (call him Pooder), are unsure how to address the problem until the day Carl finds a pamphlet: TRAINING YOUR PUPPY USING POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. Yes, this feels a lot nicer than punishing your pets to teach them; Carol, the Hemesvedt pit bull, would have reacted well to training like this when she was a pup. But...how about Carl's father? Could Carl modify and apply these same techniques to deter his dad from shopping garage sales for useless stuff, or raiding Oscar's junkyard for rusted parts to make Carl's new bike? It's harder to wrangle a human than a dog, but for the sake of his hypothetical relationship with Peggy, Carl has to try.
As summer progresses, Carl has his usual wacky misadventures with his father, while Carl and Pooder surreptitiously deploy the training manual techniques. It seems to work, sort of. Carl's dad is usually willing to abandon a long afternoon picking through garage sales if Carl suggests going for a treat at Dairy Queen, and by the waning days of summer, Mr. Hemesvedt actually goes to a real store and buys Carl new clothes. By day one of the coming school year will Carl have the type of father who won't make him ashamed in front of Peggy? Or is Carl losing the uniqueness of the most important person in his life? Maybe by summer's end, father and son can figure out what they truly mean to each other.
When you look at the people closest to you—your friends and family—it's tempting to think they would be better off if their flaws were eliminated. But that is an illusion; people are too complicated for their weak points to be targeted and removed that way. Those traits are inextricably woven with the positives about them, and if you start pulling on threads you don't like, you're liable to undo the entire tapestry. Personal evolution can't be hurried along, but most adults haven't grasped this, so Carl can hardly be blamed for being naive about it at age twelve. Ultimately, the events of this story provide a building block for his own ongoing evolution.
And here we have it: the final Gary Paulsen book published prior to his death. According to most sources I've seen, How to Train Your Dad first appeared on store shelves October 5, 2021, and Paulsen passed away from heart disease eight days later at age eighty-two. There would be at least one posthumous novel to follow, but the author's wondrous, challenging, complex youth literature over the course of half a century would be deeply missed. I take consolation from the final words of How to Train Your Dad, the last words published in a Gary Paulsen story while he was alive: "The End. Which, of course, is not the end at all..." With a library of works as rich in human experience and emotion as Paulsen's, we will always have something from him to reread or read for the first time, gaining further insight into the world through his unique wisdom. Farewell, Gary Paulsen. We love you.
Carl and his best friend, Peter Haskell (call him Pooder), are unsure how to address the problem until the day Carl finds a pamphlet: TRAINING YOUR PUPPY USING POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. Yes, this feels a lot nicer than punishing your pets to teach them; Carol, the Hemesvedt pit bull, would have reacted well to training like this when she was a pup. But...how about Carl's father? Could Carl modify and apply these same techniques to deter his dad from shopping garage sales for useless stuff, or raiding Oscar's junkyard for rusted parts to make Carl's new bike? It's harder to wrangle a human than a dog, but for the sake of his hypothetical relationship with Peggy, Carl has to try.
As summer progresses, Carl has his usual wacky misadventures with his father, while Carl and Pooder surreptitiously deploy the training manual techniques. It seems to work, sort of. Carl's dad is usually willing to abandon a long afternoon picking through garage sales if Carl suggests going for a treat at Dairy Queen, and by the waning days of summer, Mr. Hemesvedt actually goes to a real store and buys Carl new clothes. By day one of the coming school year will Carl have the type of father who won't make him ashamed in front of Peggy? Or is Carl losing the uniqueness of the most important person in his life? Maybe by summer's end, father and son can figure out what they truly mean to each other.
When you look at the people closest to you—your friends and family—it's tempting to think they would be better off if their flaws were eliminated. But that is an illusion; people are too complicated for their weak points to be targeted and removed that way. Those traits are inextricably woven with the positives about them, and if you start pulling on threads you don't like, you're liable to undo the entire tapestry. Personal evolution can't be hurried along, but most adults haven't grasped this, so Carl can hardly be blamed for being naive about it at age twelve. Ultimately, the events of this story provide a building block for his own ongoing evolution.
And here we have it: the final Gary Paulsen book published prior to his death. According to most sources I've seen, How to Train Your Dad first appeared on store shelves October 5, 2021, and Paulsen passed away from heart disease eight days later at age eighty-two. There would be at least one posthumous novel to follow, but the author's wondrous, challenging, complex youth literature over the course of half a century would be deeply missed. I take consolation from the final words of How to Train Your Dad, the last words published in a Gary Paulsen story while he was alive: "The End. Which, of course, is not the end at all..." With a library of works as rich in human experience and emotion as Paulsen's, we will always have something from him to reread or read for the first time, gaining further insight into the world through his unique wisdom. Farewell, Gary Paulsen. We love you.
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October 5, 2021I liked the idea of this book more than I liked the execution.
Carl and his dad live so far off the grid it's almost in another world. Carl wants to be normal, but his dad, who has the biggest heart and the worst case of cluelessness ever, keeps messing up when he wants to be helpful.
It was a little too male-gazy in a way that kept throwing me out, (especially with the constant parantheticals) of the story. It never quite engaged me--and I'm not sure I would have felt differently as a kid reader.
OTOH it could be today's kids will be fascinated by the ideas of off the grid living if even in a train wreck way, and might find Carl an enjoyable protagonist.
Copy provided by NetGalley
Carl and his dad live so far off the grid it's almost in another world. Carl wants to be normal, but his dad, who has the biggest heart and the worst case of cluelessness ever, keeps messing up when he wants to be helpful.
It was a little too male-gazy in a way that kept throwing me out, (especially with the constant parantheticals) of the story. It never quite engaged me--and I'm not sure I would have felt differently as a kid reader.
OTOH it could be today's kids will be fascinated by the ideas of off the grid living if even in a train wreck way, and might find Carl an enjoyable protagonist.
Copy provided by NetGalley
June 22, 2021
Do not go into this Paulsen book looking for another exciting survival series like Brian’s Saga/Hatchet, nor will you find a gut-wrenching, based on truth historical fiction like A Soldier’s Heart. What you will get when you read “How to Train Your Dad” is a the kind of laughter that will lighten your heart and keep you smiling even after you finish the book. Nearly 13 year old Carl loves his dad and his best friend Pooder wishes that he was 1/2 as lucky in the dad department, but when junior high looms, living on all things recycled, homegrown and/or home-built doesn’t make a person very “lookatable” or so says Carl. Thus begins an attempt to adapt dog-training techniques to rebooting a dumpster diving dad and turning him into a man who works a regular job, receives a paycheck and buys life’s necessities from retail stores. The reading/vocabulary level and use of sarcasm and puns make this best suited to those in grades 5-8 and is highly, highly recommended for libraries serving that age group. For full disclosure, there is one use of the word “damn” but no sexual content or human on human violence. There is, however, plenty of dog vs skunk, Harley vs. human, and maybe even hang glider vs human violence present. Thanks for the dARC, NetGalley!!
August 10, 2021
Carl wants to be normal. An often theme of middle grade fiction.
Although, in this case, his father lives off the grid, and barters for everything. He has his way of living, and Carl is getting tired of living that way. He wants clothes that are new, not yard sale rejects, so he decides to train his dad the way you train a puppy, to get him to change his ways.
I guess I am the wrong reader for this, because I felt sorry for the dad, more than I felt sorry for Carl. His father was happy living his life this way, and Carl wanted to turn him into something like the rest of the drones in the world.
But, it is well written, and a quick read, and for those who sympathize with Carl, it can be quite an enjoyable book.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Although, in this case, his father lives off the grid, and barters for everything. He has his way of living, and Carl is getting tired of living that way. He wants clothes that are new, not yard sale rejects, so he decides to train his dad the way you train a puppy, to get him to change his ways.
I guess I am the wrong reader for this, because I felt sorry for the dad, more than I felt sorry for Carl. His father was happy living his life this way, and Carl wanted to turn him into something like the rest of the drones in the world.
But, it is well written, and a quick read, and for those who sympathize with Carl, it can be quite an enjoyable book.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
July 6, 2022
This hysterical look at father and son has great voice, writing, and memories.
August 19, 2024
This was pretty bad. I generally like Paulsen's stuff, but this one fell drastically short. Besides being laughably environmentally unaware, the entire setup makes very little sense. Why would the father send the boy to school at all? This is clearly a homeschooling situation, and the boy would love his time with his father if that were the case. In fact, considering the kid apparently can't read the pamphlet, doesn't have any friends, and can't focus on how to accomplish a task, it would seem like the public school system has failed this imaginary boy as well. Besides, what does the father do all day when the kid is at school?
The dad seems like a neat dude, but then goes and makes horrible decisions that continue to make no sense. He WANTS his 12 year-old son to wear pink overalls with "juicy" (or whatever) written on the butt? Who designs a recumbent bike with only two wheels? He doesn't test any of his inventions before putting his, and his son's, lives at stake?
The duo really only have two adventures; with the boat and the bike (the bike was dumb, but the boat had me laughing out-loud, that's why this is two star instead of just one.) Everything else is filler. His friend Pooder is lovable, but the entire scene with the hang glider continues to not make sense. No one would give a 12 year-old their hang glider because the kid promised they're an expert. No one would allow those kids to walk away from that accident without involving police and parents.
The dog is a potential hazard who should be put down. Not only does it kill small animals (which means it would attack a small child), it even bites and threatens its owner.
Paulsen is trying to create a lovable band of outsiders, but instead has crafted the people who go into a business, trash the bathroom, steal the toilet paper, and let their dog poop on the entryway carpet, all without buying anything or apologizing. Anyone who has worked customer service for more than five-minutes knows the type of people I'm talking about, and they are not lovable scamps who we want to see in our story books.
To top everything off, the entire thing just ends. Just, poof, gone, over, the end. At the moment of the climax, the story just ends and nothing is resolved.
This is embarrassingly bad.
---------UPDATE 2024--------
My kids picked this as a read aloud this month, and my opinion has not grown on it. In fact, I found it awkward and difficult to read aloud. Long, run-on, sentences, little appositives that are better just left skipped. Even some foul language that I didn't remember and seemed largely unnecessary.
Carol is incredibly unlikable, his dad doesn't make any sense, and the dog should be put down for being aggressive. My wife thought the two actual funny parts were funny, but more of the book is slow and never really goes anywhere.
Not worth the time.
The dad seems like a neat dude, but then goes and makes horrible decisions that continue to make no sense. He WANTS his 12 year-old son to wear pink overalls with "juicy" (or whatever) written on the butt? Who designs a recumbent bike with only two wheels? He doesn't test any of his inventions before putting his, and his son's, lives at stake?
The duo really only have two adventures; with the boat and the bike (the bike was dumb, but the boat had me laughing out-loud, that's why this is two star instead of just one.) Everything else is filler. His friend Pooder is lovable, but the entire scene with the hang glider continues to not make sense. No one would give a 12 year-old their hang glider because the kid promised they're an expert. No one would allow those kids to walk away from that accident without involving police and parents.
The dog is a potential hazard who should be put down. Not only does it kill small animals (which means it would attack a small child), it even bites and threatens its owner.
Paulsen is trying to create a lovable band of outsiders, but instead has crafted the people who go into a business, trash the bathroom, steal the toilet paper, and let their dog poop on the entryway carpet, all without buying anything or apologizing. Anyone who has worked customer service for more than five-minutes knows the type of people I'm talking about, and they are not lovable scamps who we want to see in our story books.
To top everything off, the entire thing just ends. Just, poof, gone, over, the end. At the moment of the climax, the story just ends and nothing is resolved.
This is embarrassingly bad.
---------UPDATE 2024--------
My kids picked this as a read aloud this month, and my opinion has not grown on it. In fact, I found it awkward and difficult to read aloud. Long, run-on, sentences, little appositives that are better just left skipped. Even some foul language that I didn't remember and seemed largely unnecessary.
Carol is incredibly unlikable, his dad doesn't make any sense, and the dog should be put down for being aggressive. My wife thought the two actual funny parts were funny, but more of the book is slow and never really goes anywhere.
Not worth the time.
July 14, 2021
Thanks to Netflix for the opportunity to preview this new Paulsen intermediate novel. His works cover so many genres, but this one is most similar to Harris and Me, stories of a summer on a cousin's farm. Carl's father is totally committed to living off the grid, but that may mean Carl ends up in pink bib overalls digging through store dumpsters. He finds a pamphlet about training a puppy and believes it should work on his father. There are rough edges as Paulsen doesn't refine some of the antics of Carl and his buddy who uses extraordinary vocabulary. I loved this.
October 4, 2021
We all think our parents do things that make our life hard or embarrass us but Carl has decided to do something about it after a news broadcast has caught him in a embarrassing situation. During his experiment to retrain his dad( the tips he receives he adjusts from his puppy tips manual) and Carl even keeps a document journal of experiment. The big question is what will he learn?
It’s actually a really cute story and I’m looking forward to a book two. Thank you to NetGalley and Gary Paulsen.
It’s actually a really cute story and I’m looking forward to a book two. Thank you to NetGalley and Gary Paulsen.
June 28, 2021
It's Gary Paulsen. Read it. Enjoy. Give to reluctant readers. You're welcome.
The master has done it again. It's fun, it's funny, it's a little rough around the edges. This man is a hero to children for a reason. Just trust me and pick this one up for your child.
The master has done it again. It's fun, it's funny, it's a little rough around the edges. This man is a hero to children for a reason. Just trust me and pick this one up for your child.
January 17, 2024
How to Train Your Dad is the next to last last book from master writer, Gary Paulsen.
Readers and fans of his "issues facing tweens" books such as Lawn Boy, Molly McGinty, and Flat Broke series will love this laugh out loud, bittersweet book about family, friends and growing up.
Carl is twelve- going on thirteen and has a crush he wants to impress. There's a bit of problem however, Carl's dad is extremely frugal and eco-friendly. He barters everything, buys their clothes at garage sales, dumpster dives for food and sees their lives as "rich." In order make his dad more socially aceptable and a bit more "normal," A flyer with steps for dog training comes in a bag of dog food and gives Carl the idea to try the techniques on his dad. Carl's dad is a "rescuer" type and throughout this story, he rescues many material and living things. One being their dog, Carol, Carl's rescued pit bull dog, who has many qualities of humans but also " always smells bad" due to the skunks she shreds on a weekly basis. The characters they meet throughout their bartering are well developed and Carl's best friend, Pooder, truly acts as best friends do in Paulsen's other stories
I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of this book from NetGalley, one month before Gary's passing. As a reader, educator and mother, that heard his speak and met him twice, I couldn't bring myself to finish this book for a long time, knowing it was the last title we would have from him. He was passionate about getting kids to read and was a supporter of teachers and librarians throughout his career.
When my son was in 4th grade and going through a reading slump, I attended an educator's conference with Gary as a presenter. His entire presentation was the importance of "kids reading, really reading, and specifically 4th grade and up boys." I was able to speak with him after his presentation. I cherish the interaction to this day and will be forever grateful for him autographing a copy of Hatchet to my son with his name and "Read like a wolf eats." My son is now 32 and still reading and reading to his child that's less than a year old.
Although Mr Paulsen came across as a "gruff old codger," he had a huge heart for kids and was a believer and fighter for putting books in kids hands they really want to read. He lived his life as an adventurer and made sure if kids were unable to experience adventures in life, they could through his books.
As educators and parents, we must continue his legacy and introduce kids to his books and more importantly, reading like wolves eat.
Readers and fans of his "issues facing tweens" books such as Lawn Boy, Molly McGinty, and Flat Broke series will love this laugh out loud, bittersweet book about family, friends and growing up.
Carl is twelve- going on thirteen and has a crush he wants to impress. There's a bit of problem however, Carl's dad is extremely frugal and eco-friendly. He barters everything, buys their clothes at garage sales, dumpster dives for food and sees their lives as "rich." In order make his dad more socially aceptable and a bit more "normal," A flyer with steps for dog training comes in a bag of dog food and gives Carl the idea to try the techniques on his dad. Carl's dad is a "rescuer" type and throughout this story, he rescues many material and living things. One being their dog, Carol, Carl's rescued pit bull dog, who has many qualities of humans but also " always smells bad" due to the skunks she shreds on a weekly basis. The characters they meet throughout their bartering are well developed and Carl's best friend, Pooder, truly acts as best friends do in Paulsen's other stories
I was fortunate enough to recieve an ARC of this book from NetGalley, one month before Gary's passing. As a reader, educator and mother, that heard his speak and met him twice, I couldn't bring myself to finish this book for a long time, knowing it was the last title we would have from him. He was passionate about getting kids to read and was a supporter of teachers and librarians throughout his career.
When my son was in 4th grade and going through a reading slump, I attended an educator's conference with Gary as a presenter. His entire presentation was the importance of "kids reading, really reading, and specifically 4th grade and up boys." I was able to speak with him after his presentation. I cherish the interaction to this day and will be forever grateful for him autographing a copy of Hatchet to my son with his name and "Read like a wolf eats." My son is now 32 and still reading and reading to his child that's less than a year old.
Although Mr Paulsen came across as a "gruff old codger," he had a huge heart for kids and was a believer and fighter for putting books in kids hands they really want to read. He lived his life as an adventurer and made sure if kids were unable to experience adventures in life, they could through his books.
As educators and parents, we must continue his legacy and introduce kids to his books and more importantly, reading like wolves eat.
July 22, 2022
Paulsen was good at imagining outlandish and funny scenarios. In this book he was also trying to get readers to think about living green. Both of these qualities will make this title attractive to some readers.
The story seemed to be one crazy dangerous scene after another, with too many parenthetical comments thrown in. Of course the main characters always survived the crashes and even came to laugh about them in retrospect.
Speaking of main characters--I wondered who the main character really was. Carl, or his friend Pooder, who supposedly co-wrote the book. Pooder played a very big role.
I found the book to be rough around the edges. It is probably relatable on one level to middle school students who are beginning to be conscious of how "lookable" they are. I didn't care for the (mild) male chauvinist remarks. I also thought the use of the word "damn" was inconsistent with the tone of the book.
The story seemed to be one crazy dangerous scene after another, with too many parenthetical comments thrown in. Of course the main characters always survived the crashes and even came to laugh about them in retrospect.
Speaking of main characters--I wondered who the main character really was. Carl, or his friend Pooder, who supposedly co-wrote the book. Pooder played a very big role.
I found the book to be rough around the edges. It is probably relatable on one level to middle school students who are beginning to be conscious of how "lookable" they are. I didn't care for the (mild) male chauvinist remarks. I also thought the use of the word "damn" was inconsistent with the tone of the book.
April 9, 2022
Carl and his dad have different ideas on the word 'Rich'. Dad believes they are rich on experiences of life, time, the way they are looking after the world by recycling, and rebuilding things, and bartering for what they need instead of paying with money.
Dad's view on life was easy to believe in and follow when Carl was younger but now he is nearly thirteen and trying to catch the attention of a girl at school, garage sale clothes and dumpster diving doesn't quite cut it.
With his best friend Pooder alongside, Carl decides he is going to retrain his dad out of garage sale trawling, bartering his time and skills for useless items they'll never use and giving him things that any normal-nearly-teen wouldn't wear even on threat of their life!
A puppy training pamphlet is his guide and while in desperation to have the special girl notice him, Dad seems oblivious to his son's goal. He even finds more reasons to raid dumpsters which inadvertently puts Carl right where he doesn't want to be - where everyone can see him.
Will he ever wear normal clothes? Will dad ever behave a little more like normal dads? Will Carl impress the girl?
By the author of Hatchet, this story of growing up with a different lifestyle to his peers is really funny. The main character Carl is determined to show his dad a better way of life from his bartering and dumpster diving ways.
Carl's best friend Pooder is always standing by, supporting Carl with pieces of advice, whilst constantly looking for ways to 'make coin'. Once Pooder decides on an idea, he commits 110 percent no matter how many times things go wrong. Toss in a wily pitbull called Carol, a dad who loves rebuilding and tinkering with things - especially engine fuel systems, and a girl Carl is trying to impress, and you have a hilarious read.
Narrated directly to the reader and often going off on funny tangents and explanations, I really felt for Carl and his predicaments.
Dad's view on life was easy to believe in and follow when Carl was younger but now he is nearly thirteen and trying to catch the attention of a girl at school, garage sale clothes and dumpster diving doesn't quite cut it.
With his best friend Pooder alongside, Carl decides he is going to retrain his dad out of garage sale trawling, bartering his time and skills for useless items they'll never use and giving him things that any normal-nearly-teen wouldn't wear even on threat of their life!
A puppy training pamphlet is his guide and while in desperation to have the special girl notice him, Dad seems oblivious to his son's goal. He even finds more reasons to raid dumpsters which inadvertently puts Carl right where he doesn't want to be - where everyone can see him.
Will he ever wear normal clothes? Will dad ever behave a little more like normal dads? Will Carl impress the girl?
By the author of Hatchet, this story of growing up with a different lifestyle to his peers is really funny. The main character Carl is determined to show his dad a better way of life from his bartering and dumpster diving ways.
Carl's best friend Pooder is always standing by, supporting Carl with pieces of advice, whilst constantly looking for ways to 'make coin'. Once Pooder decides on an idea, he commits 110 percent no matter how many times things go wrong. Toss in a wily pitbull called Carol, a dad who loves rebuilding and tinkering with things - especially engine fuel systems, and a girl Carl is trying to impress, and you have a hilarious read.
Narrated directly to the reader and often going off on funny tangents and explanations, I really felt for Carl and his predicaments.
December 18, 2021
Listened to the excellent audio.
Carl is 12 and starting to notice Peggy. He wants to be look-at-able, but his bartering, dumpster-diving dad is making it hard. Carl's dad has found overalls designed for girls, and Frankensteined a recumbent bike for Carl. Carl's friend Pooder thinks Carl's dad is the best, but Carl is starting to be self-conscious. Carl tries following a dog training manual to give negative and positive reinforcement, to train his dad to leave the dumpsters and go to DQ instead. Carl comes to find out that Peggy has been noticing him after all, and wants to get together to hear how he lives on his own ideas and does not try to be a cool kid.
This was hilarious to me as an adult, but wonder if kids will like it. Even the names are middle age, such as Peggy.
Carl is 12 and starting to notice Peggy. He wants to be look-at-able, but his bartering, dumpster-diving dad is making it hard. Carl's dad has found overalls designed for girls, and Frankensteined a recumbent bike for Carl. Carl's friend Pooder thinks Carl's dad is the best, but Carl is starting to be self-conscious. Carl tries following a dog training manual to give negative and positive reinforcement, to train his dad to leave the dumpsters and go to DQ instead. Carl comes to find out that Peggy has been noticing him after all, and wants to get together to hear how he lives on his own ideas and does not try to be a cool kid.
This was hilarious to me as an adult, but wonder if kids will like it. Even the names are middle age, such as Peggy.
December 13, 2021
This one was a gift from my Dad! As a kid I loved Gary Paulsen; few (if any) authors better capture the beautiful, awkward madness of being a 12 year old boy. “How Angel Peterson Got His Name” remains one of my favorite childhood reads, and this one draws from the same well. I have great memories of laughing till our sides hurt reading his books with my dad and my brother. As an adult, it’s still fun to pick this up and chuckle, even if it is well-trodden ground at this point. It’s not his best, but it still has everything you want in a good kids book: empathy, friendship, amusement, hijinks, road rash, and a hang gliding incident. Good fun, although I left none the wiser on how to train my father. It may be too late.
March 8, 2023
Read this aloud to my kids. Omg. So.many.words. So many mouthfuls of long sentences of words of dashes and parenthesis. I almost couldn’t take it. This is barely a YA book but I’m pretty sure we all learned some new vocab. I could barely get through the pages without stumbling most nights. And my kids often fell asleep so I ended up having to RE-read a lot. Still can’t believe they wanted to keep reading- because the pace is slow on top of all the words- but we finally finished! And since I read a lot of it more than once, I’m counting it!
December 18, 2021
Very funny. Mortified by his father’s (and consequently his own) thriftiness and effort to live off the grid, Carl comes up with a plan that’s sure to move his life in another direction. Maybe, he’ll even become “lookatable” by Peggy (swoon!) the cute girl from school. With the help of his quirky friend, Pooder, the two hatch a plan based on a dog trading pamphlet which promises sure-fire success. Great writing. Full of fun and adventure, with a touch of chagrin.
January 15, 2022
The funniest book I have ever read!
August 30, 2024
A fun read about accepting who you are.
March 18, 2022
bad.com
August 6, 2025
Thought I'd read this before giving it to my 8-yr-old grandson. He's too young for this, but I enjoyed it. There are some more adult topics. It can be saved for later. He's starting on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet instead and that's a winner.
This book is a coming of age story with a bright young boy and an interesting father who lives to barter and fix up things found in junk yards. the boy tries to change his dad. In the end, some good changes are made. They both learn to see each other through different eyes. Nice.
There is a very interesting Forward from Gary Paulsen's actual son at the beginning that makes the book even more meaningful. It's a sort of retelling of Paulsen's life, I suppose.
This book is a coming of age story with a bright young boy and an interesting father who lives to barter and fix up things found in junk yards. the boy tries to change his dad. In the end, some good changes are made. They both learn to see each other through different eyes. Nice.
There is a very interesting Forward from Gary Paulsen's actual son at the beginning that makes the book even more meaningful. It's a sort of retelling of Paulsen's life, I suppose.
October 29, 2021
Carl and his single dad live off the grid in a trailer, spending their time dumpster-diving, going to garage sales, and cleaning up the pieces of skunk their rescue-pitbull Carol throws around the yard after a successful pursuit. And Carl is sick of the whole thing. There's a girl at school he wants to impress, but there's no possible way when he's stuck wearing garage-sale pink overalls and dumpster diving for mismatched shoes. After reading a pamphlet about training a puppy, Carl decides to secretly try the techniques on his father. Maybe they will work? Though he has to keep a weather eye out for Carol, who loves their lifestyle and is on the watch for anything that will change it.
This was fun and creative (though sad to know it's Paulsen's last book), quirky and episodic, and involves lots of misadventures from Carl's father's passion for rejigging motors with unintended and nearly lethal consequences. I loved Carl's best friend Pooter (sp?), who has a sophisticated vocabulary and a reckless spirit that, like Carl's father, seems bent on dying from spectacularly bad judgement about its abilities. Pooter balances that with a lot of insight into Carl's situation, and why Carl wants to change a dad that everyone else would die to have. Readers will totally see Carl's point, though, as well as Pooter's. Surely there's a middle ground? I think kids will enjoy this one.
This was fun and creative (though sad to know it's Paulsen's last book), quirky and episodic, and involves lots of misadventures from Carl's father's passion for rejigging motors with unintended and nearly lethal consequences. I loved Carl's best friend Pooter (sp?), who has a sophisticated vocabulary and a reckless spirit that, like Carl's father, seems bent on dying from spectacularly bad judgement about its abilities. Pooter balances that with a lot of insight into Carl's situation, and why Carl wants to change a dad that everyone else would die to have. Readers will totally see Carl's point, though, as well as Pooter's. Surely there's a middle ground? I think kids will enjoy this one.
November 28, 2021
ReedIII Quick Review: Fun situational narrative story from a 12 year old point of view. Short simple sample of Gary Paulsen's writing style. Excellent story concept but nowhere near the quality of other works by the author like Hatchet and The Haymeadow.
June 20, 2021
I’m a big fan of Gary Paulson’s books because they are some of the few that resonate with my reluctant male readers. As with most of his books, there is very little female interaction, and in this case, the only “girl” is the protagonist’s “crush” who pops in just to serve up the happy ending.
I think my middle school students will feel a definite connection with Carl and his best friend, Pooder. These boys’ adventures and stories are (mostly) relatable (a few somewhat “unbelievable” but …) and (mostly) authentic. The kids sound like kids, but there is an occasional disconnect between the supposed age of our main characters and their behaviors/language. These two boys are very clearly straddling the line between kid and teenager and it’s endearing to read, as an adult.
Even if my students can’t relate to all of the situations, I do think they will cringe and cheer along with Carl and Pooder as they solve the problem of how to “train” Carl’s dad.
I’m not sure why it took me so long to get through this book, I’ll admit to getting bored along the way, and putting it down - sometimes for a couple of days at a time.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest opinions.
I think my middle school students will feel a definite connection with Carl and his best friend, Pooder. These boys’ adventures and stories are (mostly) relatable (a few somewhat “unbelievable” but …) and (mostly) authentic. The kids sound like kids, but there is an occasional disconnect between the supposed age of our main characters and their behaviors/language. These two boys are very clearly straddling the line between kid and teenager and it’s endearing to read, as an adult.
Even if my students can’t relate to all of the situations, I do think they will cringe and cheer along with Carl and Pooder as they solve the problem of how to “train” Carl’s dad.
I’m not sure why it took me so long to get through this book, I’ll admit to getting bored along the way, and putting it down - sometimes for a couple of days at a time.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest opinions.
June 16, 2022
Audiobook with Dom
August 20, 2021
A funny, quick read. How to Train Your Dad follows our narrator, a 12 year old boy named Carl who has the embarrassing dad. The dad who would rather barter for everything, dumpster dives for food, and who buys their clothing at garage sales because he can get great deals. Even if the underwear is 4 sizes too small or the shirts are all 3X. They live off the grid in a trailer and raise pigs and chickens for food, then dumpster dive for anything they can't produce themselves. Carl just wants a "normal" dad like his best friend has. Because, face it, when you're a 12 year old boy and you're just starting to notice girls, you want the dad who will take you to the mall to buy a cool outfit and some new Vans. Not the guy who barters for the pink overalls and someone else's too-big shoes at the garage sale. When emptying a bag of dog food into a bin, he finds a pamphlet about puppy training, so he decides to try to train his Dad to be more normal, because mammals aren't all that different, right? Puppy training and dad training should be similar. Very funny and best suited for the middle school audience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2021
12-year-old Carl is embarrassed of his dad, like most kids his age. But Carl's dad, with his eco-friendly existence of living off the grid, dumpster diving, and bargaining for fun, has Carl reaching his limit. So Carl hatches a plan to train his dad to act more normal. What ensues is a summer filled with adventure, laugh out loud moments and maybe a little success in his "puppy" training.
From epic Gary Paulsen comes a book about being a middle schooler just wanting to fit in. Carl is a relatable character as we've all had those moments of being embarrassed by our parents and just wanting to fit in. While Carl may find his dad to be over the top, you also cannot help but like him too. Middle Grade readers will connect with the themes of family, friendship, and adventure. There are some laugh out loud moments throughout this story. I wish the ending hadn't felt as rushed, but it was still a great story.
From epic Gary Paulsen comes a book about being a middle schooler just wanting to fit in. Carl is a relatable character as we've all had those moments of being embarrassed by our parents and just wanting to fit in. While Carl may find his dad to be over the top, you also cannot help but like him too. Middle Grade readers will connect with the themes of family, friendship, and adventure. There are some laugh out loud moments throughout this story. I wish the ending hadn't felt as rushed, but it was still a great story.
November 12, 2021
It was hard to read this knowing it is the last book published by Gary Paulsen when he was alive. I've seen that one more will be coming in 2022. I imagine older children will enjoy it and even young teens who might be having some disconnect with their parents. Almost thirteen Carl is fed up with his dad's constant living off the grid. There's little cash in hand, they grow their own food, dumpster dive for the chickens and pigs, and barter at garage sales for most everything. That includes a fab (per Dad) group of pink overalls for Carl, first needing a hot wash for a little shrinking! I think you get the picture! They live in an old trailer by a river, awash with mud, and drive a '51 Chevy pickup. Carl just wants to be 'lookatable', especially for a girl at school named Peggy. He finds a pet pamphlet with some ways to train a puppy, giving some great ideas (he thinks) that may help to train his dad. With some help from best friend Pooder and no help from their pit bull Carol, Carl gives it all his best. There are some lessons to be learned by everyone and Gary Paulsen leaves us with some love and learning, just like all his stories. I will miss them!
October 4, 2021
"Sometimes you learn more from painful experience than helpful warning."
How To Train Your Dad is a fun middle grade novel by bestselling author Gary Paulsen. You probably read his most famous book Hatchet back in middle school yourself. I remember really enjoying Hatchet so was looking forward to reading Paulsen again, all these years later. They are very different books, but I enjoyed How To Train Your Dad nonetheless. It's witten from the perspective of the main character, Carl, with the help of his best friend, Pooder. Paulsen does an excellent job making the reader feel like it's really written by children. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times and really empathizing with Carl. A heartwarming story that I think kids today are going to have fun reading, and they will probably even learn a thing or two in the meantime.
Disclaimer: The quoted text is from an advanced reader copy I received from Macmillan Children's Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
How To Train Your Dad is a fun middle grade novel by bestselling author Gary Paulsen. You probably read his most famous book Hatchet back in middle school yourself. I remember really enjoying Hatchet so was looking forward to reading Paulsen again, all these years later. They are very different books, but I enjoyed How To Train Your Dad nonetheless. It's witten from the perspective of the main character, Carl, with the help of his best friend, Pooder. Paulsen does an excellent job making the reader feel like it's really written by children. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times and really empathizing with Carl. A heartwarming story that I think kids today are going to have fun reading, and they will probably even learn a thing or two in the meantime.
Disclaimer: The quoted text is from an advanced reader copy I received from Macmillan Children's Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
March 4, 2022
Deadpan Wit Amidst the Antics
I like Paulsen's "small" books. That is, a kid, his best pal, (or cousin, as in "Harris and Me"), some adventures, and some lessons learned. This is such a book. Our hero/narrator is a decent, engaging, wise, and perceptive kid. His sidekick is deadpan funny and serves as a sort of Greek chorus to comment on the action. Dad is loving, a bit odd, and a bit gormless. The incidents surrounding the training of Dad are just the sort of exaggerated silliness that is needed to add spice to the whole project. And the end is touching and upbeat. Really just perfect Paulsen - funny, generous, authentic, silly, deadpan witty, and human. A nice well-crafted find.
(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
I like Paulsen's "small" books. That is, a kid, his best pal, (or cousin, as in "Harris and Me"), some adventures, and some lessons learned. This is such a book. Our hero/narrator is a decent, engaging, wise, and perceptive kid. His sidekick is deadpan funny and serves as a sort of Greek chorus to comment on the action. Dad is loving, a bit odd, and a bit gormless. The incidents surrounding the training of Dad are just the sort of exaggerated silliness that is needed to add spice to the whole project. And the end is touching and upbeat. Really just perfect Paulsen - funny, generous, authentic, silly, deadpan witty, and human. A nice well-crafted find.
(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
September 25, 2021
When his dad's eccentric behavior threatens to embarrass him in front of the girl he likes, a 12 year old turns to a puppy training pamphlet for a solution.
I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from the publisher in order to write this review.
This spirited narrator had me laughing from page one. In addition to hilarious descriptions and zany situations, strong themes of family and identity give the novel the kind of depth you expect from Gary Paulsen. As a dog lover, I especially appreciated how much of a pivotal character rescue-pup Carol ended up being. Any fan of middle grade contemporary fiction will love this new title, especially those looking for an unrelenting comedy. This is also a great candidate for classroom use since the humor will appeal to even the most reluctant readers while the thematic content will allow for meaningful discussion.
I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from the publisher in order to write this review.
This spirited narrator had me laughing from page one. In addition to hilarious descriptions and zany situations, strong themes of family and identity give the novel the kind of depth you expect from Gary Paulsen. As a dog lover, I especially appreciated how much of a pivotal character rescue-pup Carol ended up being. Any fan of middle grade contemporary fiction will love this new title, especially those looking for an unrelenting comedy. This is also a great candidate for classroom use since the humor will appeal to even the most reluctant readers while the thematic content will allow for meaningful discussion.
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