Norman, Speak! by Caroline Adderson (review)

The boy narrator of this cheerful pet tale is thrilled when his family finally goes to the shelter and acquires a friendly dog, Norman (“His wag was a hula dance of happiness”). Norman’s young master tries some basic dog commands with Norman to no avail, until an outing to the dog park reveals the fact that Norman is actually very conversant with commands—in Chinese. The family then enthusiastically signs up for Chinese class, and while they struggle a little at first, eventually they learn enough of the language to communicate with their beloved pet. This is a fresh and original take on the new-pet story that provides a gentle little paradigm shift along with its slight absurdity; the family’s genial embrace of their new dog’s language is both humorous (Adderson has a nice line in family banter) and offhandedly heartwarming. There’s a retro feel to the wholesome, easygoing ink and digital color illustrations, resembling the work of Marc Rosenthal (I Must Have Bobo!, BCCB 2/11) in the trim, humorous drafting; soft tones and generous white space keep the book airy and joyful. This would make a solid entry to a multilingual sampling, or just a tactful way to make kids consider their pets as something other than reflections of their humans.