Demo, the Story of a Junkyard Dog

by Jon Bozak and Scott Bruns

58 pages, $17.95

Available at Demo-Dog.com

Just like the title character, Demo, this book is a lovable mixed breed. The oversized format and ebullient, comic book-style pictures suggest a picture book suitable for smallish kids. But the dense text and somewhat complicated themes read like a chapter book for a slightly older crowd.  

In the beginning, the story actually focuses more on Joe, Demo's owner, an angry junkyard owner who becomes overwhelmed when the superconsumers in his town dump more junk on him than he can handle. Joe's complicated scheme to teach the town a lesson in recycling involves Tank, a bad-tempered junkyard dog, Tank's sweet-tempered son Demo, a crazy gigantic machine, a clear-eyed little boy named Randy, and a whole lot of other dogs. Demo's deep-seated courage and kindness finally save the town, and teach everyone to look beneath the surface.

It's no surprise to learn that Demo has a real life counterpart who inspired the book. I want to say flat out that I love illustrator Scott Bruns' antic, dog-friendly pictures, which capture Demo's meaty paws and melon-sized head perfectly-Demo looks both cute AND tough. Writer Jon Bozak bit off a little more than he could chew, story-wise. While Joe, the junkyard owner, wreaks a lot of destruction on the shopping-addicted town of Newtown, the free-spending Newtownians are also painted as bad guys. I wanted more of Demo and his human pal Randy, and a little less preaching.  

Still, Demo's tale will definitely intrigue dog-loving kids of most ages, and for older kids, there's a lot to discuss, from bias, to dog adoption, to consumerism. But the biggest bonus comes before you even start reading: The real Demo actually paw-tographs every copy!

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