dagny21's Full Review: Stephanie Spinner - Uno: Blue-Ribbon Beagle
A few months ago we became the proud owners of a baby beagle. I've never been a dog person. We bought our little girl because we thought our son should have a dog. I had no idea what beagle freaks we would all become. Hard work though she is, we are all about our little beagle puppy right now, so when I saw Uno Blue-Ribbon Beagle at the bookstore where I work, I just couldn't pass it up.
Uno Blue-Ribbon Beagle is the true story of Uno, the beagle who won "Best in Show" at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 2008. He beat out 2,626 other dogs to win the top prize. A prize that had never gone to a beagle before. After that competition, Uno garnered national attention and went on a circuit of talk shows and other public appearances. Then he retired from shows and is now a therapy dog.
Reading Level This is an "All Aboard Reading" series book. It's a level 2, and is intended for children who can read some on their own, but may need some help from adults. The sentences are short and there are not many sentences on each page. The story of Uno is very simple. But, there are plenty of challenging words that an early reader might need adult help with. This book is really too simple for my son, who generally reads at about a 5th grade level. I bought the book for him because I knew he would enjoy it anyway. At 48 pages it's a quick, fun read for him.
What's To Like?
It's About a Beagle! Of course we bought this book because it's about a beagle. If you don't have a beagle, and don't want to have a beagle, you might not want to buy this book for your kid. But beagles are very charming, popular dogs, so there are probably a lot of families like ours this book would be appropriate for.
Real Story, with Real Photographs There are no cartoons in this book. The illustrations are all real photographs. Lots of real people, and lots of real dogs (not just Uno). Uno's story is an interesting and charming one, and more so because it's real.
Learn About the Life of a Show Dog Even though it's something we'd never consider, my son has been bugging us to show our dog since we bought her. He's very curious about what that would be like, and this book gives him a good introduction to that. Fortunately, learning what's involved in showing a dog has taken him out of the fantasy and into reality about it and made him a little less enamored with the idea.
Anything Not to Like? These are real photographs, and some of them aren't very good. Some of them are very charming and interesting, but many are just not good quality. Some of them are also unflattering of some very nice dogs. I just don't need a close up of a dog with his mouth hanging open. Even the cover picture of Uno sitting in his Westminster Kennel Club trophy is not very flattering of the dog. They really could have done so much better when selecting the photos for this book.
Final Thoughts If you have little kids in your house and own or are planning to buy a beagle, or if you have any purebred dog you're planning to show, your kids could probably get a lot out of this little story. Even if they are not at the appropriate reading level for this one, it suits a unique purpose and you should consider buying.
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