Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School (Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School #1)

Gr 2-4—The title pretty much says it all. Two dogs, Waldo and Sassy, do in fact stand on top of each other, put on a trench coat, and impersonate a new student so that they can save their owner Stewart from the horrible place known as school. They can't understand why he escapes from them every morning and goes to a place where he does "nothing" all day. At Bea Arthur Memorial Elementary School and Learning Commons, everyone but Stewart thinks that "Salty from Liver, Ohio" is a new transfer student. Readers will likely suspend disbelief for scene after scene of silliness as the dogs come to enjoy school and save Stewart's science presentation. The book's slapstick humor and gags play largely on the dog's superior sense of smell, love of meat products, and obsession with squirrels. The design and typography will be appealing to reluctant readers—food words are in bold, and when the dogs speak, their words are italicized. VERDICT A goofy offering for readers who like over-the-top fare.—Tim Wadham, Children's Literature Consultant, Puyallup, WA