Cover Image: How to Train Your Dad

How to Train Your Dad

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Member Reviews

Yet another great classroom addition, thanks to Gary Paulsen! Fans of his will love getting to read more of his writing. I loved that How to Train Your Dad was different from Paulsen's usual storylines.

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This book is a sign of just how masterful a writer Gary Paulsen was. With so many books to his name you'd expect the plots to become stale or out of touch with the audience. But this is a pretty solid read. While the plot is fairly predictable its peppered with charming details. While the cast of characters is small, the ones we meet are unique and believable if not especially complex.

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Carl is fast approaching his teenage years and has become more aware that his living situation does not quite measure up. Fed up with his father's insistence on living off-the-grid, Carl is tired of digging through dumpsters for food, bartering for used items, and getting his clothing at tag sales. Carl is so concerned about what others might think, especially a girl at his new school, that he decides to adopt the principles in a puppy training pamphlet and retrain his dad. Will the results of this experiment change Carl's situation for the better?

Although How to Train Your Dad was designed for children in the middle grades, I found it to be quite humorous. The audio version of this book was narrated by Dan Bittner, who did a great job of bringing the story to life. I enjoyed listening, though I am sure that I would have liked to read the book as well. How to Train Your Dad a good lesson for the target audience and a great message. I would definitely recommend the book in any format, as it was definitely worth reading.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Audio Copy by NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Young Listeners. The decision to review How to Train Your Dad was entirely my own.

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This is a unique story told from the perspective of a twelve year old boy, Carl. His dad loves living off grid, dumpster diving, bartering and showing his son that they have all they need without all of the other extra stuff many people take for granted.
Imagine being a 12 year old boy who goes dumpster diving to find food for your pig, shoes to wear and who gets stuck wearing pink bibs? Yeah, hard for any 12 year old to imagine.
It's unique and funny. Paulsen knew how to write to entertain his audience and my 11 year old loved this one, too!
It will be a hit in my school library for sure. One that will hopefully encourage my students to read more of Paulsen's wonderful work.
Thank you to NetGalley for my advance audio version of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Carl's dad is pretty unusual. He doesn't believe in "real" money, most everything they own has been salvaged or traded for, and he's obsessed with garage sales. Carl needs to take matters into his own hands, so he starts using a puppy training manual to try and train his dad into being more "normal". Maybe if he can do this, Carl will have a shot with the girl he's been crushing on.

The humor in this book is *chef's kiss* and it just may be the funniest book I've read this year! I can see it hitting home with some middle grade readers!

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*received for free from netgalley for honest review* 2.5, interesting and cute idea but didn't care for a lot in this book mostly the constant " pitbulls are vicious and scary but oh not really, but yes they are." that happened every 15ish minutes was rather annoying

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Typical of Gary Paulsen, How to Train Your Dad is delightful! When I taught fourth grade, my team and I used several of his books in our classrooms.

Short Synopsis

Carl is a teenage boy who lives with his dad and his dog. His dad is quite the thrifty fellow. He loves to barter, hit up garage sales, and fix up junk. His fix-it skills aren’t always up to par. Secondhand or free goods are the bane of his existence. His green living lifestyle includes dumpster diving. Poor Carl had to wear pink bibs with sayings on them.

It is tough to impress the ladies living this way! Carl decides he is going to try to train his dad using a puppy training pamphlet. Will it work? Only time will tell. The craziness zips forward as Carl tries to live his life.

My Thoughts

How to Train Your Dad was a treat to read. I could picture myself back in the classroom reading this with my class. The pictures Gary Paulsen paints in your head are spectacular!

How to Train Your Dad is a phenomenal book for 4th-6th graders. I found myself laughing out loud throughout the story. I listened to the last few chapters in the truck with my husband, and he was chuckling too! 😂 The audio version is the best and definitely helps with the funny factor.

Check this one out, no matter what age you are. It is a knee-jerking, laugh-out-loud pleasure!

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I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I remember reading Gary Paulsen as a child. I found his books to be full of adventure and I wanted to be his characters. As an audio book, I liked the reader for this book, but I did not care for the book. I found it heartbreaking that this kid lived in such horrible conditions and he and his dad could have used some help. Seems like a lot for a child to go through, especially, when his dad is a little too positive about their way of life.

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How to Train Your Dad by Gary Paulsen was hilarious. I absolutely loved Carl, the twelve-year-old son, and being a middle school teacher, I know my students would relate to him. Everyone struggles with family dynamics and the ending of this novel was a perfect example of meeting somewhere in the middle. This would be an ideal read aloud for 5th or 6th grade or to help teach students about going green. A huge thank you to Net Galley for providing me with the opportunity to listen to the audio advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Gary Paulsen's How to Train Your Dad is a humorous exploration of family dynamics, outward appearances, and changing expectations.

Twelve-year-old Carl is embarrassed by his father's scrappy ways, consisting of dumpster-diving, bartering for goods, and seeming obliviousness to the inherent shame of like-new overalls that are bright pink.

As Carl is more aware of girls -- one in particular -- that he'd like to impress, he assesses realistic ways he might alter his father's behaviors. Enter a puppy training guide; could the same techniques change his father's tendencies into more socially acceptable behaviors?

Of course nothing quite goes as expected in this middle-grade story, and it is bound to entertain its target audience as a greater lesson is gleaned.

Dan Bittner is a talented narrator and has dynamic voices to portray the various cast of characters.

(I received an advanced listener audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

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A wonderful middle grade book by a wonderful author. My son really enjoyed listening to this one and relating to the main character about his dad embarrassing him. The main character sets out to train his dad (with a dog training manual!) A unique read for kids. Something different and something funny!

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We all think our parents do things that make our life hard or embarrass us but Carl has decided to do something about it after a news broadcast has caught him in a embarrassing situation. During his experiment to retrain his dad( the tips he receives he adjusts from his puppy tips manual) and Carl even keeps a document journal of experiment. The big question is what will he learn?


It’s actually a really cute story and I’m looking forward to a book two. Thank you to NetGalley and Gary Paulsen.

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Thanks to Macmillan Audio (Macmillan Young Listeners) and NetGalley for an advanced listening copy of this book.

How to Train Your Dad is a funny story about a 12-year-old boy named Carl who is desperate to fit in better with his classmates as well as catch the attention of a girl at school. When Carl finds a dog training pamphlet inside a bag of dog food, he decides to try training his dad not to be so thrifty. Carl's bartering, dumpster-diving father reminded me so much of my own buy-massive-quantities-because-it-was-on-sale dad. Carl also has a pitbull which made the book even more endearing to my pibble mama heart.

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Funny story, great pace. Fans of the wimpy kid series will love it. Will be enjoyable and relatable to every middle schooler. Would recommend to reluctant readers.

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This book will, undoubtedly, be a hit in my Media Center. The author's other books are hits and appeal to my older elementary school students. The humor and gross descriptions are right on and entice the readers to relate to what's going on.
This story touches on the dissatisfaction the main character, 12 year old Carl, has for his father's way of life. Yet, the strength of their love is always there. I listened to the audiobook which added to the hysterical aspects of Carl's adventures. A fun, laugh-out-loud book!

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