Review of Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School by Julie Falatko

Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School by Julie Falatko is a 2019-2020 Bluebonnet nominee. This funny new book is told from the point of view of a dog named Waldo. Waldo and his friend Sassy are good dogs. They spend their days taking naps in the sun, patrolling the house so that no squirrels get in, wondering if they will find any delicious crumbs in the kitchen, and waiting for their people to come home. Their routine is the same day after day, until Waldo realizes that something is wrong with their boy, Stewart. Every day, Stewart goes off to this horrible place called school. The dogs decide to dress up as a student (by wearing a trench coat) and infiltrate the school on a mission to save their boy. What happens next is absolutely goofy. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if your dog went to school, check out Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School.

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Cover Image of Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School by Julie Falatko. Jack, C. (2018). [Cover image of Two dogs in a trench coat go to school]. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/kids/book/two-dogs-in-a-trench-coat-go-to-school-by-julie-falatko/

Evaluation

Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School is told from the point of view of a dog named Waldo. From Waldo’s perspective, he is a very good dog, and being a good dog means being “the best at his job,” (Falatko, 2018, p. 3). Waldo’s job includes patrolling the house for squirrels and stray meatballs. In fact, food is so important to Waldo that every single item of food mentioned in the book is in bold font. Waldo also attempts to keep his humans from escaping, but they manage to get out every single day. One day, Waldo decides that he and his friend Sassy need to do more to protect their boy, Stewart, because every day he goes to an awful place called school and comes home smelling “like a weird mix of boredom and anxiety” (Falatko, 2018, p. 8). Waldo and Sassy come up with a plan to rescue Stewart, and their plan is only derailed a few times due to unavoidable circumstances, like the distraction of a stray crumb or their inability to open a backyard gate. Throughout the novel, Waldo’s voice is very clear and he approaches life as you would expect a dog to. Waldo’s goal is to protect his people despite the distractions caused by squirrels and food.

This novel is also incredibly humorous, especially for elementary school students. When Waldo and Sassy hatch their plan to prevent Stewart from leaving the house, Sassy attempts to hide Stewart’s backpack by moving it a mere three feet. Then they decide to block the door, but when they hear their food bowls being filled with kibble, they race to the kitchen to gobble down their food. When Sassy exclaims that the humans have escaped again, Waldo says, “How do they do that every day? We were blocking the door!” (Falatko, 2018, p. 16). Of course, the dogs were eating their breakfast, not blocking the door. The dogs are constantly being distracted by food, which is both accurate and funny. Throughout the novel, the antics of the dogs are comical and will engage young readers.

Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School is peppered with black-and-white illustrations on nearly every page that serve to reinforce and extend the text. For example, when the dogs try to escape from their backyard, Jack’s illustrations show the dogs attempting to jump over the fence and falling flat on their faces (Falatko, 2018, pp. 18-19). These illustrations depict what is written in the text but add humor to the situation. Later, when the dogs infiltrate the school in their trench coat, the class is shown as a diverse bunch of kids: one student is in a wheel chair, one student is African-American, and another has stuck a pencil in his nose (Falatko, 2018, pp. 48-49). These details aren’t mentioned in the text, but they add an element of reality (and humor) to the novel. The illustrations are numerous and also help to make the book accessible to young students by breaking up the text.

Response

The first few chapters of Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School hooked me and I thought the premise was absolutely hysterical. Falatko knows dogs really well and I though she did a fantastic job telling the story from Waldo’s point of view. I love books from a dog’s perspective, so the beginning of this novel had so much potential. For me, though this is an animal fantasy, the book lost its magic and became utterly unbelievable once the dogs got to school. There is no way that teachers, secretaries, and principals would be so gullible as to believe that two dogs dressed up in a trench coat were a new student enrolling in school, without a parent. The teacher, Ms. Twohey, is so wrapped up in her own concerns with becoming teacher of the year that she is paranoid that the dogs are a spy from a neighboring school. While utterly goofy, the storyline wasn’t believable enough for me to truly enjoy the book. Overall, this book didn’t live up to its potential, and I had many issues with the way adults were depicted (as utter doofuses). However, I believe elementary school students in first through third grades will likely find this novel funny, and it’s a worthwhile addition to the school library.

Conclusion

Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School by Julie Falatko is a goofy novel told from the point of view of a dog named Waldo. The dog’s perspective and attitudes are spot-on, and the black-and-white illustrations add both detail and humor to the story. Despite some amusing moments at the beginning of the novel, this book fell flat for me because the adults were incredibly unbelievable and much of the story was unrealistic. However, I think younger students will find this book hilarious and I recommend it to fans of Wedgie and Gizmo by Suzanne Selfors and Stick Dog by Tom Watson. 3 stars.

Citations

Falatko, J. (2018). Two dogs in a trench coat go to school. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

Jack, C. (2018). [Cover image of Two dogs in a trench coat go to school]. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/kids/book/two-dogs-in-a-trench-coat-go-to-school-by-julie-falatko/

Selfors, S. (2017). Wedgie and Gizmo. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Watson, T. (2013). Stick Dog. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.