A Very Marley Christmas by John Grogan, Richard Cowdrey

From the Publisher

With all the excitement of Christmas approaching, it's no surprise that Marley, the lovable pup with a nose for trouble, wants to get in on the action. Anticipating his very first snowfall and Santa's arrival, Marley jumps in to help his family every way he can. But Marley, being Marley, always ends up on the wrong side of right. It's not long before he tears down the twinkle lights, attacks a chain of paper snowflakes, and mistakes the Christmas tree for . . . well . . . his very own indoor bathroom. Will Marley's good intentions ruin everything before Christmas begins? Or will he manage to share some Christmas magic with his family after all?

This follow-up to the #1 bestselling Bad Dog, Marley! delivers a heartfelt holiday story with many hilarious Marley mishaps along the way.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 4

The pup from Grogan's nonfiction title Marley: A Dog Like No Other (HarperCollins, 2007) returns in a picture book. This slight story records the yellow Lab's destructive puppy antics. The repetition of "Bad dog, Marley!" seems antithetical to current, positive-reinforcement-based pet-training techniques, but one can understand the frustration as the pup ruins project after project for every family member. Cowdrey's illustrations do their best to showcase Marley's exuberance and joie de vivre, but only partially succeed. Better dog stories abound.-Lisa Falk, Los Angeles Public Library

Kirkus Reviews

Grogan continues his Marley franchise with his third children's book about the boisterous yellow lab, rearranging the chronology of the family history slightly so that there are already two children in the family when Marley arrives. During the Christmas preparations, Marley jumps in the box of ornaments, runs off with the strings of lights, knocks over the tree and then uses it for his "indoor bathroom." He pulls down decorations, runs through a painting project in one delightfully messy illustration and finally shakes snow all over the family's new toboggan in a conclusion that falls a little flat. The story is smoothly told but not in a particularly funny or original way, and the dialogue includes a lot of unintelligible and annoying baby talk from the toddler son. The humorous illustrations of Marley are the volume's best feature, but they really portray just a string of typical incidences of Marley misbehavior rather than a meaningful story. It may be time for this overworked pup to take a rest. (Picture book. 3-7)

Details from Seller

• ISBN: 0061372927
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Pub. Date: September 2008
• Condition:

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