A Book Review: Big Dog Decisions

     As planned, here is my book review for the last book in the Sidney and Sydney trilogy: Big Dog Decisions! Again, this was such a fun series to spotlight. I hope that through more posts about it the books will find more of an audience, especially toward the just-learning-to-read age group that they're meant for. You can also look at my reviews for Sidney and Sydney and Dodgeball, Drama, and Other Dilemmas too. 

    This review has no spoilers. The discussion questions will have spoilers, since they are supposed to be used after reading the book.

Title: Big Dog Decisions

Author: Michelle Jabukowski

Series: This is the final installment in a chapter book trilogy featuring Sidney and Sydney. Though some of the events mentioned in the book might make more sense if you read it all the way through, this story functions well as a standalone too.

Synopsis: Everyone loves dogs, right? That seems to be the one thing that Sidney, Sydney, Gomez, and Harley can agree on. What they can't agree on is how to run their new dog walking business. From who makes the posters to who picks up the poop, the foursome is off to a slow start. Big dog decisions must be made, but what will the end result be?

Language: One kid calls her mom a "neat freak". One "ugh" used in a chapter title. An older brother boasts that he could do better at a job because of his age. 

Violence: At the beginning an energetic puppy knocks a small boy over (no injuries though). 

Romance/Sexual Stuff: None

Spiritual Elements: None

Magic: None

References: One kid talks about wanting to name a dog Hershey (after the chocolate brand).

Other Issues: Some rude humor here (involving dog poop and snot). Again, Sydney has some mood swings which don't involve her being the nicest to her friends. At the end of the story the main characters trick some older kids into taking up their dog walking business. 

Where To Buy: Big Dog Decisions is available on Amazon, eBay, Barnes & Noble, Abebooks, Book Depository, Alibris, Indigo, and Better World Books. 

My Age Range: I think kids aged 8 and up would enjoy this book the most.

Read Aloud: As I've noted with the rest of the series, this would be a great read aloud, but might be more engaging if the young reader is the one sounding out the words and practicing among friends and family.

My Opinion: When I first read through the whole Sidney and Sydney series, I was excited to read the last book in the trilogy...and then found myself disappointed. For me, at least, the premise of the book wasn't as interesting or character-developing as the other two books in the series...and it left me feeling like their story remained incomplete. Yet after flipping through it again to write this review, I started to realize that this last chapter of Sidney and Sydney's adventures is valuable in its own way.

    While nothing "big" or life changing happens in this story, the book does touch on several important themes, such as surrounding yourself with good friends, and continuing to work on something even when you don't have the best attitude. What stood out the most to me while rereading was that despite being a generally upbeat, happy-go-lucky feel to it, Big Dog Decisions also carefully handled the fact that not everything turns out how we'd like it to go, and that we won't get everything we want. I was impressed by how well they wove that message into the story without it being overly obvious. 

    Again, I'd recommend the whole Sidney and Sydney series for anyone who's starting to read more chapter books. However, I want to throw out a new recommendation this week. For anyone who's struggling with things out of their control, please consider reading this book. Even if you think the story is too "young" for you, too simple, too boring. Hopefully, while reading about characters and situations that remind you of your own joyful childhood memories, you'll be reminded that even if things aren't turning out the way they should, even if everything seems disappointing and dark and gloomy, that there is hope for a brighter tomorrow, because of the time you waited and the lessons you learned. There's nothing boring about that. 

Discussion Questions:

-Why did Sidney and Sydney want pets? How were their reasons different, and how were they the same?

-What did Sidney and Sydney learn about running a business?

-If you don't have a pet, would you want one? Why or why not? If you have a pet, what is your favorite thing about it? 

-Do you think pets are easy or hard to take care of? Why? After reading the story, what do you think the Happy Tails members would say?

-If you could only use one word to describe Sidney and Sydney's friendship, what would you pick? Why? For Gomez and Sidney's? Harley's and Sydney's?

-If you have access to the Internet, try to find an article about someone Sidney and Sydney's age who opened their own business. What do they sell? Why did they start the business? 

    Thanks for joining me to look at Big Dog Decisions! I hope you'll consider reading the book for yourself, or recommending it to someone else.

    Please click on my Review Policy page if you want to request a post topic! Like I mentioned before, I will be updating the page soon. 

    Next week, stay tuned for another review, as well as a special announcement at the end!