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A pound of trouble equals a pound of love
Book Review
Melora B. North
Banner Staff
They say timing is everything. That in mind, author Corinne Demas has hit the jackpot with her newest children’s book, “Always in Trouble” (fine fare for adults as well), the story of an errant dog who has made it his life mission to be bad, just like Marley, the naughty golden lab starring in the recently released box office hit “Marley and Me,” now playing to sold-out audiences just because bad is oh so good when it comes to our beloved canines.
Let’s face it. A bad dog can bring down the house with its antics. Sure, the repercussions are not always so funny but in the telling they take on a new light that is simply hilarious; that is, if you are not on the receiving end.
Starring in “Always in Trouble” are young Emma and her dog, Toby, a little dickens who just can’t seem to get it right. He is full of devilish whimsy: If there’s garbage to be rummaged through he takes delight in feasting on the leftovers and drinking in the wonderful scents. When there’s a squirrel to chase, he’s on the track to quickly tree him, and if there’s a delicious, freshly baked treat, he’s there to scoop up the offering when no one is there to catch him. In the dead of night Toby lets the neighbors know he is up when he howls out to the skies of his existence, and if there’s a chewy button to wolf down, he’s on the case. And, lest we forget, Toby sometimes leaves his calling card on the living room floor to let his owners know he has been there. In short, Toby is a smaller version of Marley, who is so remarkable he can chew through drywall, which Toby does not — a small blessing to be sure.
When the family has finally reached its limit and come to realize that Toby has gone too far in his antics, a decision is made that he must go to obedience school. The responsibility falls on Emma who is pleasantly shocked when he proves to be an A student. When she gives him commands he obeys; when she makes her wishes known he is the first to suck up and pull his weight. There is hope. Or is there? Remember, once a dog, always a dog.
It is after graduation that he acts up yet again so off he goes to post-grad work with the instructor Ms. Katz, who owns the school. Once again he proves to be a good puppy, that is until… Well, you get the picture; you just can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
This is a sweet book that boasts colorful, humorous pictures by Noah Z. Jones, who just so happens to have an adopted dog of his own named Otto, who sounds a little like Toby. Jones likely used his personal experience with Otto — a barker, car chaser and paper chewer — to get into the psyche of Toby when he illustrated these offerings that are simple yet dramatically rendered. Using large eyes and expressive mouths the illustrator tells a story that can be read on each face without even taking in the complete picture. The illustrations are downright funny and endearing — a perfect match for the tale of woe Toby brings upon his family, who, by the way, are blindly mesmerized by their own beastie boy.
Demas is an award-winning author of several books for children and has written two novels as well as two short story collections along with a memoir. She too has a dog, Argos, but luckily has no real complaints about her dog. (Hmmm, wonder what her secret is.) When not penning her books and stories she is a professor of English at Mt. Holyoke College and a fiction editor for the Massachusetts Review. She lives near the college and has a second home here on the Cape.
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Jan 8th, 2009