I, Cosmo

by Carlie Sorosiak

A golden retriever narrates a hilarious, heart-tugging tale of a dog and his humans as he tries to keep his family together while everything around them falls apart.

Ever since Cosmo became a big brother to Max ten years ago, he’s known what his job was: to protect his boy and make him happy. Through many good years marked by tennis balls and pilfered turkey, torn-up toilet paper and fragrant goose poop, Cosmo has doggedly kept his vow. Until recently, his biggest problems were the evil tutu-wearing sheepdog he met on Halloween and the arthritis in his own joints. But now, with Dad-scented blankets appearing on the couch and arguing voices getting louder, Cosmo senses a tougher challenge ahead. When Max gets a crazy idea to teach them both a dance routine for a contest, how can Cosmo refuse, stiff hips or no? Max wants to remind his folks of all the great times they’ve had together dancing — and make them forget about the “d” word that’s making them all cry. Told in the open, optimistic, unintentionally humorous voice of a golden retriever, I, Cosmo will grab readers from the first page — and remind them that love and loyalty transcend whatever life throws your way.

• ISBN10: 1536207691
• ISBN13: 9781536207699
• Publish Date: 24 December 2019 (first published 1 August 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Candlewick Press
• Imprint: Walker Books US
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 192
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781536207699

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

As the oldest member of the Walker family, Cosmo saw it as his duty to protect them and look out for them. When his boy, Max, began stressing about all his parents fighting and his fear that a divorce would separate them, Cosmo dedicated himself to Max's plan, which was to win a dance competition, and hopefully prove that Cosmo and Max belonged together.

From the very first page, I fell in love with Cosmo. He charmed the pants off of me with his witty observations and obvious love for his family. This was a dog, who had watched over his family for over 13 years, and how could I not adore a dog with that much dedication?

It was quite a treat being in his head, and I must commend Sorosiak for all the things she injected into his stream of consciousness. Those little things, which seemed more dog-like never failed to delight me. His musings about talking cats and talking dogs was hilarious.

But, do you know what really made me smile? Dancing dogs! Yes, friends, Max and Cosmo trained for a dance competition, and I loved hearing about all the tricks and all the dancers Cosmo admired. The way he waxed poetic about Singing in the Rain and Grease tickled me, and I totally went searching YouTube in search of amazing canine dancers.

As sweet and humorous as this book was, it did feature a marriage that was crumbling, and I will admit, there were tears. It was sad to watch a family go through this, but I feel like this could be a meaningful read for someone in the target audience, who is experiencing the same thing.

Overall, I had a lovely time getting to know Cosmo and the Walker family. This was such a wonderful love letter to those pets, who made our lives better, who gave us comfort when we needed it, who loved us unconditionally, and who will always have a place in our hearts.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS