Pinkerton, Behave! By Steven Kellogg
Pinkerton, Behave! is the story of a new puppy who needs to be trained. The illustrations are set up a little bit like a comic book, and there really is nothing too special about this book, in my eyes. The owners of Pinkerton need to train him to do important things that all dogs need to learn how to do, but they also decide to train him to attack a burglar in case he will ever need those skills someday...
One night, low and behold, a burglar breaks into the home of the family and -- here's where the controversy lies -- he holds a gun to the owner's head not once, but TWICE in the story. It is terrifying! The burglar not only has a mean, evil look to him but he is holding a gun at close range and ready to shoot at any given moment. Definitely too graphic and scary for kids to see, and certainly too violent. However, Pinkerton jumps in before the man gets to shoot, so he saves the day during this suspensefully inappropriate scene. Decent story, but I can definitely see why it's placement in school libraries is challenged.
No comments:
Post a Comment