Murphy Meets the Treadmill | 
 enlarge | Author: Harriet Ziefert
Creator: Emily Bolam
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $2.25
You Save: $12.75 (85%)
New (7) Used (8) from $0.19
Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 1147537
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Pages: 32
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.5
ISBN: 0618113576
UPC: 046442113571
EAN: 9780618113576
ASIN: 0618113576
Publication Date: September 1, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: May contain light shelf wear and shelf dust stain
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Product Description
Murphy is a simple dog with simple pleasures. He's happy just to lie on the porch and watch the people go by, especially if they have treats for him to eat! All those treats add up, though, and even Murphy has to admit that maybe he's not such a fine example of his breed after all. But what's a dog to do? Cheryl says he has to diet, and that's just the beginning. One day a delivery van arrives with a strange machine. Murphy puts up quite a fight, but Cheryl is determined to get him trim and fit. Soon, the neighbors can't stop talking about Murphy's new activity. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks! Readers will delight in the familiar battle of wills between pet and owner, hilariously portrayed through Harriet Ziefert's witty text and Emily Bolam's warm, expressive illustrations.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Dog's eye view of the world May 2, 2003
Wally Dog's Alpha Dog (Oregon)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I just had to respond to the reader who panned this book: do you own a dog? This is a VERY funny book! And well done. Murphy, like many dogs and their humans had gotten into the habit of too many calories and too little exercise. To view the storyline as a case of "society's...reverence of appearance above all else" and to equate Cheryl's conduct with "humilia[ion] by forced exercise or dieting" is a major case of the reader projecting HER issues on Murphy! He's a dog: he lives to eat, sleep AND please his alpha dog, Cheryl. And Cheryl, like any good alpha dog (or parent, for that matter) is using positive discipline and proactive behavior to mold her protege into the best--and healthiest--dog he can be.
My kids love this book! And they don't see the negative messages that the CA reader does; they see a funny story about an owner's creative way to help her dog get healthier.
 Sad commentary May 6, 2002
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
Murphy is a fat yellow lab whose human, Cheryl, purchases a treadmill and forces Murphy to use it. He does, loses weight, attracts a female dog, and becomes famous.
While Ziefert's intentions may be good, i.e. to encourage children to exercise and eat right, the less-than-subtle messages conveyed here are disturbing, to say the least. Is it alright to force someone to exercise, or to threaten them with punishment if they don't? Do we want to perpetuate this society's fascination with and reverence of appearance above all else? How many of us were humiliated by forced exercise or dieting as children, and how do we feel about it now? Did it improve our relationship to food or exercise? Were the results ultimately beneficial?
Though this reaction may seem strong, picture books are read and absorbed by impressionable young children, many of whom are already overly body conscious. We don't need to encourage this kind of coercion.
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