Published: 2021
Author: Bruce Hale
Genre: Elementary Chapter Book / Humorous Fiction
Audience: Grades 3–7
Number of Stars: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Goodreads Link: Switched
Themes: Empathy, Grief, Perspective-Taking, Self-Acceptance, Anxiety.
Publisher’s Summary
The story of a boy and a dog…who become a dog and a boy. Who’s a good boy?
Twelve-year-old Parker Pitts hates a mess. Ever since his grandmother died, he’s much more comfortable when things are in their spots. He scrubs the kitchen counters at home, avoids the school bully at all costs, and never even speaks to Gabriella Cortez, the most interesting girl in the sixth grade. No muss, no fuss, no complicated feelings to worry about. But now Parker’s older sister is traveling abroad for the semester, leaving behind her obnoxious and extremely disorderly goldendoodle, Boof, for Parker to manage. Man’s best friend? More like boy’s worst nightmare! When an intense round of tug-of-war leaves both dog and boy with bumped heads, Parker and Boof wake up to the biggest disaster – they’ve switched bodies! Suddenly Boof has to find his way through a school day and Parker has to…eat dog food?! It’s a mess of truly epic proportions. Can Parker and Boof clean it up — together?
Review
The book, Switched, by Bruce Hale, delivers a new twist on the body swapping trope classic. The story centers on the 2 that swap bodies, Parker, a middle schooler who hates any type of mess and clutter and the dog, Boof, a scruffy, free-spirited goldendoodle. When a freak accident causes them to swap bodies, they must survive navigating through each other’s lives, which, of course, is harder for Parker than Bo.
The story deals with the themes of friendship, empathy, perspective taking (especially through Parker when he is in the dog’s body but it can be seen through Bo when he is in the boys body) and self-acceptance. The themes in the story can teach the reader to accept things they can’t change and if they are able to change things, you don’t have to do it alone, you can lean on someone to help. In the beginning, Parker, has not gotten over the loss of his grandmother and absolutely does not like his sister’s dog, Boof. After Parker has to walk, literally, in someone else’s shoes or in this case, paws, it forces Parker to view his family, friends and his own anxieties through a completely new lens and has a healing quality to it, and in the end he learns to embrace his vulnerability and is able to let go of his obsessive control for neatness, and finally learns to be a kid.
I would recommend this book for students in grades 3 and up. The cute picture of the dog on the front will definitely grab ones’ attention, especially if they love dogs/animals. There are no pictures in this book but if students liked the movie, Freaky Friday, and dog humor, they will enjoy this book.
For a fun classroom activity, students can draw a picture of what animal they would want to swap bodies with along with writing a couple of paragraphs of what they think their life would be as that animal. Parker and his sister are both named after two Jazz greats so the students could research who they people are, Charlie “Bird” Parker, who Parker is named after and Billie Holiday, who his sister is named after.
🎒 Classroom & Curricular Connections
- ELA & Writing (Creative Perspective):
- Activity Idea: “Paws for a Moment.” Have students draw the animal they would want to swap bodies with. Then, have them write two paragraphs: one describing their first 10 minutes in that animal’s body, and another describing how that animal would handle a typical day in their classroom.
- Social Studies & Music (Jazz History):
- Activity Idea: Parker and his sister are named after two Jazz legends. Have students research Charlie “Bird” Parker and Billie Holiday. Listen to a recording of each artist in class and discuss why an author might choose these “cool” and “soulful” figures as namesakes for the characters.
- Health & SEL (Managing Grief):
- Activity Idea: Discuss Parker’s need for neatness. How can losing someone we love make us want to control our environment? Brainstorm other, healthier ways people can manage their “messy” feelings besides scrubbing counters.
- Science (Animal Senses):
- Activity Idea: Research how a Goldendoodle’s sense of smell and hearing differs from a human’s. Create a “Sensory Comparison” chart to show what Parker might “see” with his nose while he is trapped in Boof’s body.
