Pinkerton Book

Pinkerton, Behave, by Steven Kellogg is about a dog named Pinkerton, who is trying to be trained by his owners. They take him to a dog school to learn how to fetch and attack a burglar, but he has problems learning these skills. At the end of the book though, a burglar comes to their house and Pinkerton does what he is supposed to do and attacks. This book is a picture book and meant for a younger audience, but the book was not very exciting to read. The story line and writing style were also very simple, which made the book less interesting for me, but it would be more meaningful to younger audiences.
However, this book is considered a controversial or challenged book. It is considered a challenged book because it might be too violent for young readers. The book includes a scene of a burglar pointing a gun at a woman's head. Some people feel like this is too violent of an image for the young audience this book is intended for.
After reading Pinkerton, Behave, I could see why some people might consider the book too violent to use with young students. However, the violence in this book would not be the factor to keep me from using it in an elementary classroom. I mostly would not use this book because of its weak story line. Overall, Pinkerton, Behave, by Steven Kellogg is not a book that I would recommend to use in the classroom.