101 Dalmatians: Amazon.ca: Dodie Smith: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Most kids know well the Disney versions of 101 Dalmatians, but few are familiar with Dodie Smith's original novel of the same name published in 1956. Now comes the audio interpretation, read with just the right amount of sophistication, exuberance and humor by British actor Martin Jarvis.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

That daring, hilarious pack of hounds from the classic tale of canine intrigue returns in a beautiful new edition.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
NOT long ago, there lived in London a young married couple of Dalmatian dogs named Pongo and Missis Pongo. Read the first page

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Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews

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4 star:		(3)
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Average Customer Review

4.9 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, Nov 11 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: 101 Dalmatians (Hardcover)

this story is very amazing.i think this story is difference from another story.as the characters are 101 Dalmatians,the story is around them and another animals will help pengo to find his children.it has very meaningful .it teach us to help people when they have problems.it is a good chance for us toknow more about animals' world.the content is creative and wonderful.it is because the story is around animals' world and the backgound was very clear that a woman want to use the skin of Dalmatians' to make a fur.it is very wonderful

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5.0 out of 5 stars An Adventure to Remember, Nov 9 2003

By

Emily Schork "P-O-O-F" (Hawthorne, NV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 101 Dalmatians (Paperback)

It is funny. It is exciting. It has an endearing warmth to the heart. Pongo and Missis, a younge married couple of dalmatian dogs, live with Mr. and Mrs. Dearly, a younge married couple of humans. Fifteen delightful puppis are born, to be adored by all. And then-the puppies are stolen. Bye whom? Top men at Scatland yard are frankly baffled. But one of the keenest brains od Dogdom was at work-Pongo had a clue! Nearby lived a sinister woman named Cruella de Ville who had a pasion fo furs. She had shown a marked interest in the puppies-and been heard to wish she had a white fur coat with black spots. By a way known only to dogs (sesret though noisy), Pongo got all the dogs of England to help trace the pups-to a mysterios house in deepest Suffolk. Then he and Missis set out to the rescue. They traveled by night, befriended by many generous dogs. But the recsue turned out to be an even greater task than Pongo expected, for the mysterios house was nothing less than a dalmatian fur farm, guarded by the adominable Baddun brothers. Many dangers had to be faced. Adventure follows adventure as the suspense mounts higher and higher. Ther are many suprises of all is the one the Dearlys get, on a snowy Christmas Eve near the stories triumphant end. Dog-lovers of all gaes will delight in Pongo, Missis, and their family, espesially the tiny Cadpig, who is crazy abot television. Then ther is Perdita, the touching lost dog.And a great dane, a gallant spaniel, a shrewd old sheepdog, and many other dogs of varios breeds play important parts-not to mention a couple of cats,a horse, and some kindly cows. Animals, humans, London, and the country seen are charmingly portrayed in this heart touching tal like no other. A must read.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The first and still the best, Aug 26 2003

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Chrijeff (Scranton, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 101 Dalmatians (Paperback)

The live-action Disney version of this book was the pits. The animated version wasn't bad at all (I own it). But the book is better than either of them. And, like all the best kids' books, this one, though written for 8-14's, can still be enjoyed when you're way past childhood.

Disney necessarily simplified the story and characters for his movie versions, cutting out a lot of the subtle characterization and background that makes the book seem so completely plausible. Here, instead of "Roger and Anita," we have "the Dearlys," a businessman and his bride, who are "owned" by Pongo and--not Perdita, but "Missis"--and have not one "Nanny" but two, "Nanny Cook" (a real cook) and "Nanny Butler" (a real butler). We learn of Cruella deVil's sinister family history, her furrier husband (never mentioned in the films), and her obsession with furs. We learn that her employees, the Baddun Brothers, dream of appearing on "What's My Crime?" Many of the Pongos' pups--Lucky, Patch, Cadpig, Roly--are fleshed out as they never were on the screen. The sheepdog Colonel is less of a buffoon and more a shrewd strategist. The drama of the puppies' births and early lives is much better portrayed, as is the journey of Pongo and Missis to Suffolk to rescue their stolen family, with introductions to the dogs that help them on their way--the hospitable Golden Retriever, the aged Spaniel and his "pet," 90-year-old Sir Charles, the flighty Irish Setter whose efforts come to naught through a fire, and the tough Staffordshire who occupies the moving van the Dalmatians board to shorten their homeward trip. Cruella's white Persian cat is here too--a clever animal "biding her time" as she waits for the opportunity to settle the score for her drowned litters--and so is the sheepdog's "pet," two-year-old Tommy Tompkins, who lends his toy hay-cart to the army of London-bound dogs. Yet despite a certain anthropomorphization, all the animals are recognizably animals; they behave as such and don't do anything you couldn't visualize such creatures doing. The humor is much more subtle than in the films, no doubt reflecting Smith's British personality. There are episodes like the brief rest in a country church and the Dalmatians' revenge against Cruella that would have made great theater. I still enjoy the animated version, but I keep coming back to the book.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've ever read!
This book was awesome a great book to read at night when your all cozy. Get it share it with a friend, whaterver this is trully a masterpiece. Read more

Published on Aug 4 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars The movies have nothing on this delightful story
We bought this audio book hoping to wean our young children (who enjoyed both movie versions of this book very much) off of movies and get them more interested in "real stories. Read more

Published on Mar 18 2003 by A. VanHecke