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McGrowl #5
It's A Dog-eat-dog World
Thomas and McGrowl suspect that their new neighbors, Hiram Biddle and his daughter, Binky, may be more than they appear when their obedience school for dogs becomes an overwhelming success and Violet adopts Binky as her best friend.
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First published September 1, 2004
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About the author
Bob Balaban
18 books18 followersRobert Elmer "Bob" Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, author, producer, and director.
Balaban is the author of a series of six children's novels featuring a bionic dog named McGrowl.
Balaban is the author of a series of six children's novels featuring a bionic dog named McGrowl.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 4, 2025
Childhood Bookshelf Re-Read: the idea of this book is adorable. I love that a dog and his human can communicate telepathically.
However, so many parts of the storyline are all over place. There are random pieces of information thrown in at random times that you wonder where it came from? And it just felt very jumpy, even for a kids book.
While I’m sure any kid would enjoy it for the sheer premise of being able to telepathically communicate and solve mysteries with their dog, I think there are better kids books 🤷🏼♀️ This one will be passed along for someone else to enjoy.
However, so many parts of the storyline are all over place. There are random pieces of information thrown in at random times that you wonder where it came from? And it just felt very jumpy, even for a kids book.
While I’m sure any kid would enjoy it for the sheer premise of being able to telepathically communicate and solve mysteries with their dog, I think there are better kids books 🤷🏼♀️ This one will be passed along for someone else to enjoy.
August 18, 2011
Balaban,Bob. (2004). IT'S A DOG-EAT-DOG WORLD. New York: SCHOLASTIC INC.(170 pp.)
Don't you love your dog so much you feel like you have a telepathic connection. Well Thomas and Mcgrowl have that connection but its because Mcgrowl is a super dog. In IT'S A DOG-EAT-DOG WORLD. by Bob Balaban the author does a great job at telling a story between friends and how they save their friendship from being torn apart. Thomas has a best friend named Violet who also has a dog named Miss pooch. Thomas and Violet are best friends and love to hang out with each other but they also catch bad guys in ther town like Bunting and Smudge. When Thomas and Mcgrowl go for a walk thay realize a handkerchief with the initials:GB.in the corner, then they finally realized that the evil duo had returned. So they both started to look for clues first they tried to suspect all the neighbors even the new ones Hiram Biddle and his daughter Binky who just started to run a obedience school for dogs. Soon Thomas realized that the Biddles seem a little strange and do more investigations on them.
Thomas soon realizes that Violet is spending to much time with Binky and that he thinks Biddles are not as friendly as they appear. Soon he starts to get wonder if there is something wrong with them after finding out some information about Binky and how she lied about a school she made up. Later on in the story Mcgrowl starts to get into some serious trouble. This story is part of a prequel dealing with the life of Thomas and Mcgrowl. My opinion of the book is that it was very interesting and had mystery to it. In the story I was very suprised that not everyone is not who you think they are. My recommendation for this book is that it's for anyone who likes mystery and the friendship of a dog and its owner.
Don't you love your dog so much you feel like you have a telepathic connection. Well Thomas and Mcgrowl have that connection but its because Mcgrowl is a super dog. In IT'S A DOG-EAT-DOG WORLD. by Bob Balaban the author does a great job at telling a story between friends and how they save their friendship from being torn apart. Thomas has a best friend named Violet who also has a dog named Miss pooch. Thomas and Violet are best friends and love to hang out with each other but they also catch bad guys in ther town like Bunting and Smudge. When Thomas and Mcgrowl go for a walk thay realize a handkerchief with the initials:GB.in the corner, then they finally realized that the evil duo had returned. So they both started to look for clues first they tried to suspect all the neighbors even the new ones Hiram Biddle and his daughter Binky who just started to run a obedience school for dogs. Soon Thomas realized that the Biddles seem a little strange and do more investigations on them.
Thomas soon realizes that Violet is spending to much time with Binky and that he thinks Biddles are not as friendly as they appear. Soon he starts to get wonder if there is something wrong with them after finding out some information about Binky and how she lied about a school she made up. Later on in the story Mcgrowl starts to get into some serious trouble. This story is part of a prequel dealing with the life of Thomas and Mcgrowl. My opinion of the book is that it was very interesting and had mystery to it. In the story I was very suprised that not everyone is not who you think they are. My recommendation for this book is that it's for anyone who likes mystery and the friendship of a dog and its owner.
July 18, 2014
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy (but almost Realistic Fiction!) (Fiction)
Fountas and Pinnell Reading Level: R
Summary: Thomas Wiggins' dog, McGrowl, has superhero powers and can communicate with Thomas telepathically. Only a few people on Earth know about McGrowl's superhero abilities, but unfortunately, two of them (Milton Smudge and Gretchen Bunting) are obsessed with using McGrowl's powers in an evil plan to take over the world. In this book (the fifth in the McGrowl series), Thomas and McGrowl have to do the detective work of finding the evil duo without the help of Thomas' friend Violet who has been totally consumed with a new friendship.
Why I Liked/Disliked the Book: I thought the premise of this book was pretty brilliant. I mean, who wouldn't want to read about a dog with superhero abilities living a normal life and communicating with its owner telepathically! I also enjoyed the way the book was written, the challenging words (with enough clues to understand them all), and the engaging characters. As a parent, I connected with both of Thomas' parents, who were slightly deeper characters than in most children's books.
What This Book Made Me Think About: How a fantasy book could be so close to realistic fiction! This book is basically realistic fiction (except for McGrowl's superhero abilities and that bit about the rocketship at the end). The book also made me think a lot about the author and his family, because I was friends with one of his daughters in middle school! I could really feel his caring for his own children in reading the dialogue of Thomas' parents.
Fountas and Pinnell Reading Level: R
Summary: Thomas Wiggins' dog, McGrowl, has superhero powers and can communicate with Thomas telepathically. Only a few people on Earth know about McGrowl's superhero abilities, but unfortunately, two of them (Milton Smudge and Gretchen Bunting) are obsessed with using McGrowl's powers in an evil plan to take over the world. In this book (the fifth in the McGrowl series), Thomas and McGrowl have to do the detective work of finding the evil duo without the help of Thomas' friend Violet who has been totally consumed with a new friendship.
Why I Liked/Disliked the Book: I thought the premise of this book was pretty brilliant. I mean, who wouldn't want to read about a dog with superhero abilities living a normal life and communicating with its owner telepathically! I also enjoyed the way the book was written, the challenging words (with enough clues to understand them all), and the engaging characters. As a parent, I connected with both of Thomas' parents, who were slightly deeper characters than in most children's books.
What This Book Made Me Think About: How a fantasy book could be so close to realistic fiction! This book is basically realistic fiction (except for McGrowl's superhero abilities and that bit about the rocketship at the end). The book also made me think a lot about the author and his family, because I was friends with one of his daughters in middle school! I could really feel his caring for his own children in reading the dialogue of Thomas' parents.
June 1, 2011
Just finished reading this one with my son. A friend gave it to us, and even though it's the fifth in a series, it was easy to follow and understand. My son really liked the mystery and now wants to go back and get the previous four books. Anything that involves mystery and dogs is bound to be a hit in my house. We loved the relationship between McGrowl and Thomas. Who wouldn't want to have the ability to telepathically communicate with his dog?!?
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December 28, 2013AR Quiz No. 83015 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: MG - BL: 5.8 - AR Pts: 4.0
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP, VP
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: MG - BL: 5.8 - AR Pts: 4.0
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP, VP
November 18, 2015
amazing
October 4, 2018
training, bionics, and dogs.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews