2.5/5 ⭐️⭐️🌟 Stars (for the book): Have you ever wondered what your dog was thinking? I have and do quite regularly. I had really high hopes for this book, but it felt like a let down. Perhaps it’s because I’ve watched and loved the show previously and this just didn’t live up to my expectations. The book feels shorter than 68 pages because of the illustrations. It was cute. I chuckled, but it was not nearly as good as the show. I give the show a 4/5, but for me the book fell short. The show does a much better job of expanding on Martin’s perceptions and thoughts. This tiny book needed more: more content, more substance, more illustrations...Just more. That being said, if you haven’t seen the ABC show, #DownwardDog, I sincerely recommend watching it. It never ceases to make me laugh!

Lovely little read for those who love Martin (from ABCs Downward Dog). I never heard of Martin before, but seeing his haiku made me want to check out th show badly!

As a huge fan of the TV series, Downward Dog, I had to check out this book. It is written from the perspective of the dog star, Martin, from the series. That said, Martin is very talented as a poet. Who knew? Although we should have known he was deep. What was even more astounding, is the talent he shows for artwork! Wow! The Perfect Poop should be in a museum....somewhere. Quirky little book and I adored it! The added bonus? Martin penned a little public service announcement about shelter dogs. By the way, my two shelter rescue dogs enjoyed the book as well. Run, don't walk to buy this book!

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for a pre-publication ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I watched the series based on this book and really enjoyed it and was curious to read the book the show is based from. The book is a cute, fun read from Martins perspective. You see little poems giving you insight to how Martin feels about things like his owner, the cat that lives next door, squirrels, and his food. There are some sad and serious moments in this book as well that I was not expecting going into this.

This was a quick read that would be good for dog lovers.

A copy of this book was provided by Netgalley, my review is my own opinion.

Cute book for dog lovers/owners. Unique form of poetry presents the story with a new light.
See the highs and lows of a dog's life. Understand the inner monologue of a dog. toward his owner.

Samm Hodges and Phinheas Hodges’ Downward Dog: Very Serious Haiku from a Very Serious Dog is a cute and touching book. This book is as adorable and funny as I expected but it is also very moving and quite profound.

The book is a short collection of haikus and illustrations from the perspective of adorable dog Martin, the star of an ABC TV series, Downward Dog. We get a glimpse into Martin’s life which includes his boundless love for his owner Nan, thoughts on growing older, and sickness.

If you’ve ever wondered what your precious dog is thinking, this is definitely the book for you! The dog’s voice is nicely done, and I can just imagine Martin (or my dog) talking to me like this. The haikus are cute, meaningful, and really poignant. I love that the haikus are not laugh out loud funny. Instead, they have a gentle and insightful humour which really works.

Idil Gozde’s illustrations are absolutely lovely in their simplicity. I love the gentle colours and the cute depictions nicely support the haikus.

Downward Dog: Very Serious Haiku from a Very Serious Dog is a sweet and super quick read. I would definitely purchase this book for myself. I recommend it to fellow dog owners or anyone who has pets. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed in this book. You may find yourself shedding a few tears and wanting to go hug your doggie!

Thank you to NetGalley and Animal Media Group for this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a total sucker for a dog story especially if it’s told by the dog. This is a unique style as it’s written in haiku style about the life of a dog (told through his eyes of course) with his favorite human. It’s funny and kind of sad. Don’t worry- it ends beautifully. I loved the illustrations “by the dog” too. That definitely added to the humor.

I have not seen the ABC show but now I want to look it up. Hoping it’s on Netflix!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Must read for any dog-lover!

A short, yet very effective book of poetry told from the perspective of a dog named Martin. Funny at moments, sad at others. This book is very touching, and would be the perfect gift for any dog owner, dog lover, or even an animal enthusiast. A lovely coffee table book.

I have received a much appreciated digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Downward Dog: Very Serious Haiku
By a Very Serious Dog
Author: Samm Hodges & Phineas Hodges


In 2017 there was a very short lived series on ABC about an adopted rescue dog named Martin. I don't watch a lot of television and the show's run was so short, that I somehow missed it. Seems like a lot of people did. People who are now scrambling to watch the episodes online and wishing they hadn't missed out. And still others were fans of the cute, heart-warming show....before ABC pulled the plug on it after only one season. Their justification? Too expensive to produce.

I hope Netflix or another of the big streaming services picks up the show, or that they make some online videos. They made a video series before the television series was filmed, and about 12 minutes of video was released to promo the television show. You can watch it here: (youtube link)

I love any show with a talking dog. :) So I knew I would also love poetry written by a dog....well written by two television writers who write simulated dog poetry. I would like to think that Martin dictated the poems and the writers jotted it down for him. Kinda hard to type or hold a pen with paws. Yeah...that must be what happened. :)

The cover for this book is sweet and shows the dog from the television series (who was actually adopted from a shelter). The poems and artwork are perfect. I kept looking at my dog Roxie and thinking how almost all of them fit how she might feel sometimes. :)

My favorite is this one:

Winter is Netflix
And a shared blanket we
both fart under

There is some great artwork by Idil Gozde as well.

Great, fun book for any dog lover, especially the proud parents of an adopted shelter dog!!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Animal Media Group via NetGalley. All opinions expressed (including this one: SOMEONE PICK UP THE OPTION ON THIS SHOW AND BRING IT BACK!!!!) are entirely my own.**

I am a dog lover, and I really enjoy haiku, so this book was a perfect fit! But more than that, I can hear my own dog thinking the same truths! I had tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. Very well done!

"A man in the park, too close, you quicken your step. My growl shakes the earth"
*********************************************************************************************************************
Very cute book told by the dog about his relationship with his human.
Everything from "the puddle on the floor" and hoping for forgiveness to the what the dogs poop reallllly looks like and its not the cute poop emoji.
Cover is adorable but the story will pull on any dog lover/owner's heart strings.

**Thank you NetGalley for my free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.**

I never watched the Downward Dog tv show, but after reading this quick and funny book I will probably start watching the show as well. This book has some haikus told in the perspective of the dog. There are also some nice illustrations to go along. While most are funny, some of them are also a little bit sad and make you reflect on the dog's perspective. If you love dogs, you will like this book as well.

I requested this book because I remember seeing the trailer for the television show and subsequently hearing it had been cancelled. That was a bit sad because as much of a cat person as I am, dogs are amazing. I'd love to see more shows about them in a comedic setting rather than as set dressing for human actors.

When I started reading this, I felt like there were brief glimpses into deeper meaning, but that overall the style of poetry chosen (haiku) was perhaps not the best choice. A format that was even a little bit longer might have made more of an impact. A couple of the pieces I got the underlying emotion, but a majority were so brief and understated that I felt nothing in them.

I wish the book overall had been longer because it took less than five minutes to finish it cover to cover. What did I get out of it in the end? Did I enjoy it? The overwhelming answer is "meh". I didn't find humor, I didn't find engagement, I just...didn't. If the show is based on this book alone, on the authors' humor alone, than I can see why it was cancelled. A lack of substance makes me glad this was a review rather than a purchase.

I am not familiar with the television show this is based on, but it was a sweet and surprisingly poignant series of haiku from a dog's point of view.

This is a really cute book for dog lovers. Haiku's from a Dog's perspective with cute illustrations. A quick read. Perfect Gift for any Dog Lover. Enjoy

Very sweet book, especially for all dog lovers! ❤️

As a dog lover I thought these little poems were cute, dog is truly man, or woman's best friend.

// I received this ebook for free from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review //

Downward Dog: Very Serious Haiku from a Very Serious Dog
By Samm and Phinheas Hodges
Animal Media Group

This was a quick, funny read that really lightened up my bad day. The book is a series of haikus from the point of view of a dog. While obviously dogs can't write, I can imagine a dog actually writing poetry like this. I mean, I can see my dog writing this. Plus, the pictures are pretty awesome as well. Even the one sad haiku hit a nerve as I can imagine what it would feel like if I had to go through what happened in that particular haiku.

Overall, I give Downward Dog: Very Serious Haiku from a Very Serious Dog by Samm and Phinheas Hodges 📖📖📖📖 / 5 bookies and highly recommend for a good laugh.

This is a poem book in a dog's point of view. It describes his day to day, things he likes and doesn't like. It's a sweet short read that as I read was ready for bad news but thankfully all turned out well in the end.

A short enjoyable read.

[Note:  This book was provided free of charge by Net Gallery/Animal Media Group.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

As a deeply melancholy person myself, there is something deeply appealing about the melancholy dog at the center of this book [1].  What this book does, and does particularly well, is to try to crawl within a particular dog, who happens to be the dog that the author(s) got from an animal shelter, and to attempt to view life from the point of view of a reflective and loving if somewhat downbeat animal.  The result is a view of a dog's life in all of its complexity from a dog that is full of angst in a way that draws considerable insight about the life of human beings whose suffering from loneliness and monotony may not be so different from that of the animal whose reflections are turned into lovely and gloomy haiku here.  As it is easy to think of many people who love dogs and who want to imagine life from the point of view of a dog, it is unsurprising that this book likely has a large and appreciative audience.

The book itself is simple, being divided into a series of cute illustrations along with touching haiku from the point of view of a dog.  We see a dog feeling ashamed about having torn some shoes to shreds and having peed in the house out of anxiety and fear about being left alone for so long, about the way that dogs are sensitive to the moods of their owners, the way that a cat torments a dog with taunts about being unloved with an owner who never comes home, a dog's yearning for a family he will never have, and the endless monotony of eating the same dog food over and over again.  Beyond these reflections, there are thoughts about the growl that results from the dog's sensitivity to a man who comes too close, and the concern about how a dog ages far faster than a person, and the way that love feels like a welling in the heart.  The drawings of the book are particularly cute and the haiku range from the adorably mopey to the deeply profound and touching, as when the dog wonders what a cancer scare means for his owner and struggles with intense loneliness.

Sometimes it is easiest to understand ourselves by putting ourselves in the place of someone else.  We live in an age that celebrates sterility, and yet a stray dog with a fear of being unloved can have a vision of unborn children that he will never get to have because of being neutered.  Likewise, people are often lonely and that is what leads people to get pets, only often because of our busy lives those pets can go many hours in the course of a day without human interaction, which one could easily see making them anxious about whether they are loved themselves, just as children and adults can easily feel the same way.  Likewise, much that humans take for granted in life is a mystery for dogs, such as the way that the doors close when people want to be with their "friends" or that a dog might feel neglected when some other animal is given too much attention or the way that a dog might want to show its friendliness only to feel ashamed at disapproval because of an inability to understand what it is like to be too friendly.  Haiku are often written in praise of nature, and in this book it happens to a form of poetry that is well-suited to describing life from the perspective of a lovable dog.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013/04/22/a-dog-with-no-illusions/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/09/26/book-review-higher-places-the-spirituality-found-through-our-dogs/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/07/07/on-lassitude-or-the-dog-days-of-summer/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/10/05/dog-police-nobody-knows-who-you-are/