101 Dalmatians
by Dodie Smith
★★★★☆
The main reason I wanted to read this one is because it’s written by the author of I Capture the Castle, which I love. Pongo and Missis, a married pair of Dalmatians have a litter of 15 puppies that are kidnapped. Using the Twilight Bark system to contact dogs all over England, they search for their missing pups.
It was interesting to see the differences between this original story and the Disney adaptation (which I watched about a million times when I was little). The main two dogs are Pongo and Missis, Perdita is a completely different dog. When Missis has a huge litter, the owners decide to find a foster mother (Perdita) to help nurse the puppies. Also, Pongo’s master works in the financial industry, as opposed to being a musician. Obviously, finance isn’t as conducive to an animated musical as being a song writer is. I was surprised that Cruella De Vil is described almost exactly as she appears in the film, all the way down to her hair, half black and half white.
I’m so glad I read this after getting a dog. It was a lot more fun to hear how the dogs think while picturing my own pup. I love Pongo thinking about how he “owns” his human, instead of vice versa. He comments on how sometimes the humans were so clever they were almost canine.
Read this if you loved the movie and are in the mood for a sweet story. It’s not complicated or trying, it’s just a good little story. I also think it’d be a perfect book to read aloud to your kids or nieces and nephews.
