"Nino tiene un perro que no tiene. Un perro imaginario. Que se anima a todo, hace de todo, ¡y entiende todo! Pero, un día, Nino recibe de regalo un perro de verdad. ¿Se animará a todo ese perro? ¿Sabrá hacer de todo? ¿Entenderá todo? ¿Será como el perro que Nino no tenía?".

Summary: Story of a kid who is sad, and dealing with difficult aspects of his life through his creation of an imaginary dog friend (“dog that Nino didn’t have”). Nino’s difficulties are reflected in his sense of his dog, as is some of his acting out. He then gets a real dog, and the narration shifts to Nino’s child-perspective observations about how the real dog is different from the imaginary dog that once served as the projection for his feelings. We see Nino getting healthier and creating a richer imaginary world.

Personal Reaction: Excellent book! Really high quality art. Talented, subtle, interesting. Enhances presentation of story. The story is important, meaningful and presented in an interesting way. It reminds me a little of “Where the Wild Things Are,” but only insofar as it is an interesting treatment of a boy dealing with big emotions.

I only wish the title were better! The “dog Nino didn’t have” device works great in the text, but it sounds like a super uninteresting book as a title. ( )

This book highlights the power of imagination through recognizing that even though a child's imaginary friend disappeared with time (and after getting an actual dog)- it made way for multiple other outlets of imagination grandeur.

This book is about a boy Nino, playing with an imaginary dog until one day he gets a real one. ( )

Leuk voor kinderen. Dit boek gaat over een jongetje dat geen hondje mag. Dit hebben vast meerdere kinderen in je klas! Ouders of broers/zussen kunnen bijvoorbeeld allergisch zijn. Dit jongetje bedenkt daar een oplossing voor: een denkbeeldig hondje. Daarnaast doet dit hondje alles dat Nino niet durft. Het hondje helpt hem dus zijn angsten te overwinnen. Dit boek kan dus ook worden ingezet als je je met de klas wilt richten op de competitieve ontwikkeling. ( )