Dog Blue

by Polly Dunbar

Fetching illustrations from an exciting new talent enliven this tale of a boy who loves dogs and the color blue — and finds a creative way to make his fantasies come true.

Bertie wants a dog, a blue dog, more than anything in the world. For now, though, he likes to pretend he has one, patting it, walking it, even playing both sides of a game of fetch. One day, Bertie finds a real dog, and it's puppy love at first sight — or is it? In this story of an inventive boy who meets the dog of his dreams, Polly Dunbar tells an engaging tale full of whimsy and humor.

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

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Polly Dunbar is the author-illustrator of many children’s books, including DOG BLUE, PENGUIN, and six stories featuring Tilly and Friends. She is also the illustrator of David Almond’s MY DAD'S A BIRDMAN. Polly Dunbar lives in Brighton, England.

Reviews

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

#73 in my 365 Kids Books challenge. For a fuller explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on their own shelf.

Starting a binge on Polly Dunbar, because simple and lovely. Good dog.

Library copy

[Jennifer B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. A little boy obsessed with the color blue wants a blue dog, but will a black and white one do?

Brought back lovely childhood memories of when I would pretend to be an animal, especially one I wanted and couldn't have, as this little boy does the same thing.

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a blue themed story time and it was a hit with the children :)

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet boy and dog story. MC has unique and strong voice. lovely illustrations perfectly suit this quirky character. Somewhat circular ending.

[Callum Dale]

The Dog Blue is a book based around the concept of a young boy’s wish of a dog becoming true. The theme of the “blue” is found throughout the book, from the title of the book to the colour of the pages. This results in a more engaging book and it stand-outs from all the other books I have reviewed. The book particularly focuses on children's engagement. Using repeating phrases and question-answer based structure to ensure children can be in depth with the book and verbally work with the book. Dunbar was very smart in the use of language used and how it was illustrated. For example “black and white, beautiful, spotty, perfect” begin to shrink in size. This helps picture the endless words that could describe Blue. In schools I would probably ask pupils to find more adjectives to describe the dog. Children often gravitate to books they can identify with. In this case, the book is perfect for a range of children. It enters around a child’s life, where he fulfils his dreams. You could ask children to do many tasks around this book. For example write a story about your dream pet. Overall this book sets an example of how books can be literally cohesive and yet still fulfil the imagination and love for reading children seems to adore.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we pretend that we have what we want... but can't really have it... is that pretending enough?

In this tale little Bertie finds out whether or not human reality might bring him something even more fulfilling than all his pretending.

YOU SEE, BERTIE PRETENDS HE HAS A BLUE DOG

Eventually, though, Bertie falls in love with a dalmation who is decidedly not blue. But that dog is real.

Bertie finds a compromise in the name that he gives to his new dog.

HOW TO RATE THIS BOOK

I strongly disliked the ending. But otherwise I liked this book well enough, and the author's text and illustrations are appealing, so FIVE STARS for this one.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked out a bunch of Polly Dunbar books today from the library. Most of them were Tilly books that were just okay. My favorite Tilly book is still Goodnight, Tiptoe. This Dunbar book was definitely my favorite of the bunch I checked out today. I like that Bertie has a preference and a dream. At the same time, he is adaptable when things don't turn out exactly how he wishes.

[Bethany Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book about a little boy who loves blue and his great imagination around his dream puppy dog. Unfortunately the dog he gets isn't blue however he seen realises how easy it is to simply call the dog blue and all seems fixed. Great book.

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagination, that’s how I had a lot of things I wanted as a child. Bertie loves the color blue and wanted a blue dog. He used his imagination and playtime to pretend that he had a dog. Next he knew there he was a real dog. I like a kid that can find happiness with his imagination; and real life.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

AR 1.5

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy loves the color blue and would love to have a blue dog.

[Catherine McAna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads #8

Summary: Bertie is a child who loves blue and likes to have blue things, like a blue sweater, shoes, etc. He wanted a blue dog, but he didn't have one. Instead, he pretended to be the dog he wanted. He played fetch, fed it, and walked it. While pretending, he stumbles upon a black and white dog. He really likes it because he plays with it and it likes him back. However, the dog is not blue. The dog feels sad so Bertie decides to give something blue to the dog. He names the dog "Blue" and it works out for both of them.

Theme: The theme of this book is friendship and responsibility. Bertie knows that he wants a dog and he knows the responsibility of caring for one, like feeding it and walking it. A lot of times, kids want dogs and they want the dog to be their friends. However, they do not know what other things are entailed in having a dog. Once Bertie takes in Blue, he not only is his friend, but he also cares for him.

Personal Response: This book reminds me so much of me before I got my dog. I had a plush dog when I was younger and always took care of it to show my parents I could be responsible for owning a dog. They finally broke down and got me one. I took care of her for a couple months, then pushed the responsibility onto my parents. This book is good because it shows the child taking care of the dog, not the parents.

Recommendation: This is an easy book to read for children because there is not many words on a page. There were simple sentences and simple pictures. The color blue stood out in all of the illustrations. Besides Bertie, the dog, leash, stick, and food, there were no other pictures. He didn't even have a background. It was kind of weird to see multiple pictures of Bertie on the page, so it may have been better to put it on different pages since some pages had only a few words and one picture. It would have been more consistent. I would read this to people getting a dog or who just have a big imagination like Bertie.

[Alif Nopianti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute, so sweet and lovely!

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars This was a fun little book about a boy who loves the color blue....but who is also in desperate need of a dog. When one stray comes alone...it is black and white... can Bertie have a black and white dog??? Well the obvious answer is...the dog's name must be BLUE.

This is a great imagination book and the twist at the end made me truly laugh out loud!

Why not a 4 or 5 star...The pictures are simple and cute but too monochromatic for me..still a nice book ! Fun Read! Worth checking out!

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bertie is a little boy who loves the color blue; he wears a blue sweater and blue shoes. But what he really wishes for is a blue dog to play with and call his own. Bertie then gets his wish to own have his very own dog, but there's just one problem, his dog is not blue at all, he's white with black spots. What will Bertie do? I shared this book in my storytime program (2-5 yr olds), and the children really enjoyed it --and Bertie's actions at the end of the book caused quite a few giggles (mostly from the older kids). Good read-aloud; would recommend this more for children ages 4 & 5.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a basic but sweet book. Even the illustrations are basic but eye appealing. My 4 year old granddaughter paid attention while I read it to her; and even tried to read some of the easy words within the story.

A little boy loves the color blue. Everything for him is blue. He gets a blue collar and pretends he has a blue dog. He plays with it and cares for it. But it's still not like a real dog but when a real dog comes along they become friends but he's sad because the dog isn't blue. But he can name him Blue! Friends for lifetime.

[Mary Sesar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was about a little boy whose favorite color was blue. He wanted a blue dog so bad, and when he finally does get a dog, it isn't blue. The dog could do anything his imaginary dog could so instead of having a blue dog, he names his dog blue.
While I liked the book, I don't know if I would use this in the classroom. I'm not sure where I would focus this book to teach the children besides just a story time book.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good pet book. There's a small lesson on compromise mixed in as well. Since the boy wanted a blue dog and ended up with a dog that wasn't blue, he named the dog blue and was just as happy. He learned that his priorities might not have been perfect before since what was really important about getting a dog was finding a companion, not the color of its coat. Nice lesson. Good book.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story about a young boy in search of a dog who's absolute most favorite color is blue. The young boy imagines greatly of what life would be like if he found the perfect dog. The children (also parents & teachers) enjoyed the entertaining tale during preschool storytime. The illustrations provided very cute characters with different shades of blue.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is very fun to share at a story time geared for toddlers and pre-school age children. It's all about a boy who wants a dog, a BLUE dog, who gears up for when he gets a dog, pretends he IS a dog, finds a dog, but the dog is not blue. What to do?

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't necessarily dislike or like this book. The story of his Bertie and his love for everything blue is mildly engaging but the I found the plot to be disappointing.

I suppose a child who loves the color blue would absolutely adore this book.

[Jess Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun read aloud about a boy who loves the color blue, and reallyreally wants a pet dog that's blue. while he doesn't find exactly what he's looking for, he gets pretty close.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice, underspoken mood and emotions, sparse, effective illustrations.

[Cammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a very cute "blue" picture book. That tells about a boy who loves blue and wishes he had a blue dog! He does get a dog but it's white and black spotted dog so...He calls him BLUE!!

[Mary Trujillo]

azul..spaniah

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

24 months - this is a cute book, well illustrated and well written. O thinks it's very cute too.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and funny, how Bertie problem solves his dilemna about wanting a blue dog.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple text with simple words
Bertie, who loves the color blue and really wants a dog, finally gets his wish even though the dog he meets is white with black spots.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally cute book. Bertie loves all things blue, and wants his dog to be blue too. But his dog turns out to be black and white.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are ways to make everything blue.