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Summary
Summary
Norman, Speak! tells the comical yet thought-provoking story of a boy and his family who adopt a dog that just can't seem to learn the things other dogs do.
Overwhelmed by dogs in need at their local animal shelter, a young boy chooses Norman, the stray that's been there the longest. But, upon bringing him home, the family quickly learns that Norman won't respond to commands. He doesn't even know his own name.
During a chance encounter with another dog owner in the park, the family is very surprised to learn the reason for Norman's confusion; he "speaks" Chinese instead of English! And so the family enrolls in a language class, determined to understand their uniquely loveable pet.
The humorous text, from award-winning author Caroline Adderson, and Qin Leng's delightful illustrations combine to create a picture book that will be enjoyed by readers (and dogs) no matter what language they speak.
Author Notes
Caroline Adderson is an award-winning author of books for young readers and adults. She is the author of the picture books Norman, Speak! (illustrated by Qin Leng) and I Love You One to Ten (illustrated by Christina Leist), as well as the Jasper John Dooley and Izzy series. Her middle-grade books include Middle of Nowhere, A Simple Case of Angels and The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventuring Cat. She has won the Sheila Egoff Award, the Chocolate Lily Book Award and the Diamond Willow Award, among many other honors. For more information, see carolineaddersonkids.com.
Qin Leng lives and works as a designer and illustrator in Toronto. She graduated from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema and has received many awards for her animated short films and artwork. Her picture books include Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin by Chieri Uegaki (APALA Award, Governor General's Literary Award finalist); Away by Emil Sher and A Family Is a Family Is a Family by Sara O'Leary (both USBBY Outstanding International Books); When I Found Grandma by Saumiya Balasubramaniam (Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award finalist) and I Am Small, which Qin has written and illustrated. Visit www.qinillustrations.com .
Reviews (3)
Horn Book Review
Turnabouts abound in this tale of a boy who decides his family should take the neediest dog in the shelter for their own ("'Which dog has been here the longest?' I asked the shelter woman"). Named Norman by the shelter, the dog seems happy and eager enough, but doesn't respond to even the simplest commands. But it turns out that Norman is neither untrained nor stupid; a serendipitous meeting in the park with another dog and owner reveals that Norman understands Chinese! So the boy and his parents are off to Chinese language school, where Dad shows himself to be not the best student. "More effort," the teacher says. "Fewer jokes." There are lessons here -- about patience as well as intercultural understanding -- but they're very lightly worn, and the casual line of the ink-and-color illustrations reminds us that this is a warm family story most of all: "We say, 'Women ai ni?, Norman.' Because we do. We love Norman." roger sutton (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Look, we've all known (and loved) dumb dogs. That's the situation faced by a young boy and his parents after going to the shelter and basing their pet decision on one factor: Let's take the saddest one. That'd be Norman, a stumpy-tailed little fella who is happy as heck living with the family, although he can't seem to learn anything. But a fortuitous trip to the local dog park reveals that Norman can, indeed, understand commands as long as they're spoken in Chinese. So the family signs up for Chinese lessons, after which they discover that Norman is, in fact, quite intelligent. In many ways, this is reminiscent of Aaron Meshon's Take Me Out to the Yakyu (2013) in the way that it reinvigorates a common picture-book topic by filtering it through a multicultural lens. Multilingualism is presented as an interesting and immediately rewarding pursuit (cool words like zuoxia help), and Leng's ink illustrations keep things loose and friendly with almost Tintin-like characters. Henhao!--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-A boy visits the animal shelter in hopes of finding the perfect dog, but he is overwhelmed by the multitude of choices. Finally, he asks the shelter worker which one has been there the longest, and she leads him to Norman's cage. Out pops a short little pup with no tail. Not having a tail is no disability for Norman. Instead, he wags his whole rear end. The family falls in love with him because he's funny and friendly and he greets them at the door with a "funny-brown-hula-stump-wiggle-wag dance." The boy tries to teach him the simplest tricks, but the canine just cocks his head and stares at him, and he decides that Norman may not have been the smartest dog at the shelter. Then, at the park one day, they meet a Chinese man who talks to Norman, and the dog does exactly what the man tells him. Norman's former owners were Chinese! The family sets about learning a few commands to accommodate their new pet. Throughout this lovely story, it is clear that the boy and his parents love Norman just as he is. Simple ink drawings set against ample white space make the endearing dog come alive on paper. This title will be a surefire hit with children.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Norman didn't understand a word we said. Whenever we spoke, he tilted his head and stared. Maybe he kept forgetting his name was Norman. Or maybe nobody had trained him properly. But after a few days with Norman, we knew the truth. He just wasn't very smart. *** "Mrs. Wang," I said. "We have a dog." "Gou. Dog." "We have a gou. His name is Norman, and he only understands Chinese. He doesn't care that we can't speak it. He loves us anyway. But I'm going to try really hard to learn it." "Not me," Dad said. "I'm not smart enough." Mrs. Wang said something in Chinese to Dad and shook her finger at him. Then she smiled. "More effort," she said. "Fewer jokes." Excerpted from Norman, Speak! by Caroline Adderson All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
