A bunch of scientists create a device that allows dogs to speak when sitting next to it, and what do they do with this world-altering invention? They give that dog a syndicated radio program of course! Each chapter is split into two halves, the first being DJ John's radio braodcast where he muses on the differences between dogs and humans, and a second half that gives us some of John's life outside of the radio station.
This is a very cute book with pretty commonplace vocabulary and the various chapters can range from humorous, to philosophical to sad. Being a children's book a lot of words typically written in kanji are pure kana here which actually hurt me more than helping, I'd love to read a full kanji version, but it's pretty digestible. Some segments (particularly the two-chapter bonus story after the main book) jump around to different characters so it can sometimes be hard to immediately tell who you're following but this should be reasonably comprehensible for most. I had a bit of external trouble from a series of dizzy spells most likely caused by outdated glasses so some parts I had trouble with made more sense when I re-read them the next day in a clearer frame of mind but the story does occasionally obscure certain details for dramatic effect as well which may prove a little confusing if you aren't ready to pick things up from context.
Fair warning, despite being a children's book it does get into some heavier, somber territory, they don't exactly sugarcoat what happened to Laika and bullying/suicide are addressed, though in a sensitive way.
A bunch of scientists create a device that allows dogs to speak when sitting next to it, and what do they do with this world-altering invention? They give that dog a syndicated radio program of course! Each chapter is split into two halves, the first being DJ John's radio braodcast where he muses on the differences between dogs and humans, and a second half that gives us some of John's life outside of the radio station.
This is a very cute book with pretty commonplace vocabulary and the various chapters can range from humorous, to philosophical to sad. Being a children's book a lot of words typically written in kanji are pure kana here which actually hurt me more than helping, I'd love to read a full kanji version, but it's pretty digestible. Some segments (particularly the two-chapter bonus story after the main book) jump around to different characters so it can sometimes be hard to immediately tell who you're following but this should be reasonably comprehensible for most. I had a bit of external trouble from a series of dizzy spells most likely caused by outdated glasses so some parts I had trouble with made more sense when I re-read them the next day in a clearer frame of mind but the story does occasionally obscure certain details for dramatic effect as well which may prove a little confusing if you aren't ready to pick things up from context.
Fair warning, despite being a children's book it does get into some heavier, somber territory, they don't exactly sugarcoat what happened to Laika and bullying/suicide are addressed, though in a sensitive way.