Weezer Changes the World

PreS-Gr 3—David McPhail's idealistic parable (Beach Lane Books, 2009) features a lovable brown-and-white pup. Billy's pet, Weezer, begins as a normal dog that chews toys, barks, and, on occasion, "tinkles on the rug." Then lightning strikes, and suddenly the pooch is curing diseases, creating a formula to end pollution, performing at benefit concerts, and advocating world peace. Then, confounding the odds, lightning strikes once more. Poor Weezer is bedridden. Doctors surround him, and cards arrive from all over the world. People everywhere vow to carry on his good work. When the heroic canine finally awakens, there are cheers across the land, but he is once again changed. Now, a "plain old dog again," he chews bones, chases balls, and fetches the paper. "But the people of the world?/Because of Weezer…/they were changed forever." While the charming pen-and-ink art will appeal to most youngsters, the didactic subject matter is likely to go over some viewers' heads or turn them off. Background woodwinds and strings enliven the iconographic screen. Use this program to empower youngsters to work for change or in dog units.—Barbara Auerbach, P.S. 217, Brooklyn, NY