Norman Speak! by Caroline Adderson and Qin Leng

... an affectionate look into the surprises of 

bringing home a new pet  Kirkus

One of my most loved books is Let's get a pup by Bob Graham.  Norman Speak! is the perfect book partner.

Norman Speak!
"We went to the animal shelter. So many kinds of dogs were there - brown, black, white, gray, large and small, curly and straight ... the sad way those dogs looked at us made me want to cry."

Let's get a pup
"At the Rescue Centre they found plenty of dogs without a home, and lots of dogs all alone. They found big dogs, small dogs, sniffers and sleepers, wire-haired, short-haireds, scratchers and leapers."

The family select Norman because he has been in the shelter the longest.  "His wag was a hula dance of happiness" compares well with Dave from Let's get a pup.  "Dave was so excited he came out sideways ... and he turned a complete circle in the air."

Norman seems happy but he just doesn't want to do anything the boy asks such as sit, come, speak.  The family decide he is not very smart. Then one day at the park a man calls out to his dog and Norman runs over to this stranger.  The man speaks Chinese and Norman understands.

"We signed up for Chinese lessons on Saturday mornings in the basement of a church."  Mrs Wang teaches the whole family Chinese words so they can talk to Norman - he such a smart dog!

Here is the web site for the author Caroline Adderson.