How Fletcher Was Hatched by Devlin, Wende, Devlin, Harry (1998) Hardcover

by Wende Devlin

A dog named Fletcher gets animals to build an egg over him so that he can be hatched like an chicken!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Humor, Dogs, Animals, Juvenile

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Cami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just over a week ago, I remembered this story from my childhood while I was in the library. I described it to the librarian and suddenly, she says that she, too, had this book when she was little. Our county library had it in the system and I just picked it up tonight.
My husband also remembered it from his childhood.
I read it to my kids tonight.
They loved it.

The true immortality of children's picture books lies in the illustrations. I remembered them well, feeling like they held so much magic. I was actually surprised by the text of the story, being mostly unremembered (though it was very good).

I loved watching the expressions on my children's faces as I read this great little story. I love Fletcher more than ever.

[Celia Buell (semi hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I didn't do a lesson plan, I'll count this because of the number of words it had per page.

I chose this for the interesting cover, and because I wanted to work with the kiddos on something about spring, which was the librarian's idea as well (we always start out on preschool library day where she reads a couple books to them as a group, and then we each work with a preschooler individually).

This book is silly and has a really good story to it, which is not something I've found with all picture books. Like the child I was working with, I was excited to finish it. It's the type of book that really draws you in, and (hopefully) fosters an early love of reading and the idea of reading to think about things. It also had a very good message about friendship.

I was actually surprised about the number of words per page, and how long the book was in general. I'm not used to picture books being this wordy. I was also surprised that the three year old kid wanted to stick with it. However, he seemed to really enjoy and get a lot out of it, and I was happy I made the right choice for today.

I'm honestly surprised my parents never read me this one when I was a kid. I definitely would have remembered it if so!

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a unique story that doesn't follow the norm, try this one! I mean, a dog hatching from an egg ... how does *that* happen? :)

Ages: 4 - 8

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[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a classic. Dogs should hatch more often.

[Lisa Daily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my absolute favorite book as a kid.

[Trina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been trying to remember the name of this book for years. I loved Fletcher as a kid. :)

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

For my wife's birthday, I bought her copies of a bunch of the picture books she had as a child from her parents' subscription to the Parents' Magazine Press book club. We'll be working our way through the pile over the next week or two. Unfortunately, these creaky old books don't have the nostalgic glow about them that they have for my wife, so my enjoyment is less than hers in general.

First up, we have a hound dog with an Eeyore demeanor who feels slighted that his owner is paying more attention to some new chicks that just hatched on their farm than to him. With a couple of his wildlife friends, Otter and Beaver, Fletcher hatches a preposterous plan to recapture the girls' affection, but it also unintentionally creates a big stir in their small town.

Plodding and dull.

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

How Fletch Was Hatched, written by Wende and Harry Devlin, is the story of a dog who thinks his mistress, Alexandria, no longer loves him. He has no water in his bowl and he hasn’t had his ears scratched in days. He sees the attention she gives some newly hatched baby chicks and thinks of a wonderful idea, he will hatch from an egg. With the help of Beaver and Otter, an egg is constructed around Fletcher. Early the next morning Beaver and Otter roll the giant egg to the path Alexandria takes to school in hopes that she will she the giant egg. Once noticed, a crowd forms around the giant egg. Soon, Fletcher hears Alexandria crying and bursts from the egg with a peep. After all his trouble Fletcher realizes that you don’t have to be a baby chick to be the most important thing in someone’s life.
This is a wonderful story with a great ending. The illustrations in the book are colorful and really make the words pop. This book would be appropriate for any child age 4 to 8.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgia from my childhood. Very memorable, especially the big dog trying to "peep" like a chick.

Update 6/22/2024
There are numerous pictures in this book I remember in such detail. In particular the pages at the end where Fletcher is shaking off mud and I swear he shakes off a few of his brown spots. I like the friendship with the otter and beaver and how beaver makes use of his building skills to construct the egg. Their plan and otter and beaver themselves are pretty sketchy though. LOL

PART OF:
Another batch of childhood memories I now own physical copies of again thanks to my amazing husband. See the complete list of books I have remembered so far here

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a weird book...definitely a childhood favorite. Glad I rediscovered it!

[Cissy Swint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here it is....my all-time favorite book when I was just a little girl.I mis it....must buy copy.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a story where the main character is a grumpy old dog who feels that he is being replaced since his mistress is enjoying her time with some freshly hatch chicks. So feeling forlorn he takes himself down to the pond to gripe to his wild friends Otter and Beaver to see if there just may be a solution to reintegrate himself into his mistress' graces.

The text is easy to read and follow along so would make for a great book for younger readers who are in the process of improving their reading skills. There are one or two names of creatures that have been made up while the reader can keep the names used in the text or if they feel they are struggling with the pronunciation can probably make-up their own to include instead.

The artwork is brightly colored and covers the page. The only creature who isn't well represented in the looks department is Fletcher himself for in most of the illustrations his muzzle is some weird form. And why couldn't they show Otter tickling Fletcher's nose with a coneflower?

In the end it was a pretty decent book but one that just didn't attract my attention as a good book should.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be an old book, but it was really fun. Alexandra has been ignoring her dog Fletcher to play with some new baby chicks. Fletcher feels left out and asks his friends Otter and Beaver for help. They decide that Fletcher needs to act like a chick and hatch out of an egg. You have to love friends that are willing to build you an egg to hatch from. This was a lovely story with fun art. But it does tell its age.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh I would have loved this as a child. Especially for the charming art. Especially because I was tall, blond, and fickle, just like Fletcher's mistress. Not quite as worth keeping, in my own (adult) opinion as the Cranberry Port series, but close.

[Peyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This children's book was from when my dad was a kid (he's 60 now). I really liked the concepts behind this book. It's main point was about being yourself and not getting jealous of someone else. This is definatley a good read with great vocab for kids to learn, I highly reccomend this book.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the dozen most loved books i had growing up!

6 stars

i've read this dozens of times and my Mom and sister read it to me. what a great memory to stumble across on Goodreads!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my absolute favorites as a young child. I ADORED this book. Why? Who knows why it spoke to 6 year old me but it did.

[Chanin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my husband's book & I read it to the kids

[Sherilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The copy of this book is worn from the many many reads - a true treasure in tale and illustration.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gentle book is a childhood favorite of mine and I am so glad I remembered the title AND found a used copy to give to my grandson for Christmas. Sweet!

[Brenda Bignall ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️ I have loved this story since childhood!

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a dog, Fletcher, who is feeling ignored by his mistress. She has watched some cute chickens hatch from their eggs and seems enamored with them. Fletcher, in disgust, walks to the pond to visit his friends otter and beaver. He laments to them about what has happened, and they come up with a plan. Their scheme is to build an egg out of clay around Flectcher, and to have him "hatch" out of the egg. They seal Fletcher in the egg, and roll it near a road that is on the way to the local school. Many people see the egg while traveling the road, and a crowd gathers. Alexandra, Fletcher mistress, is there too, but she is not interested in the egg. She just wants Fletcher back. When Fletcher hears this, he explodes from the egg and runs to meet her.

I like this book because I like dogs. I think that all of us have felt neglected at times, and this shows that things are not always as they seem.

The book could be used if a child was feeling neglected or unappreciated. If could also be used to teach concepts related to life cycles, embryonic development, and mammals.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every child depicted in this book looks like an extra from the Brady Bunch. Fletcher the dog is a fool to trust that Otter and Beaver, and he shouldn't ever do so again. Some friends. That picture of him trapped in the egg creeped the shit out of me when I was six, and it still does. This reminds me of the kind of book you'd find in a 1976 doctor's office waiting room. Next to the already-done Highlights magazine. Which means everyone of a certain age probably recognizes that big pink egg with the dog hatching out of it on the cover. I certainly did when I found it among my old books, but when I re-read it today my warm 1970s memories turned sour. Ugh. Not one of my favorites. I'm going to give it two stars only because my mom wrote my name on the front inside cover in 1975.

[Asho · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another book I discovered in the box of my husband's childhood books, and now I really enjoy reading it to our son. It's such a cute story about the lengths a dog goes to when he gets jealous of his master's new chick. I wish I had discovered this book when I was a kid, because I know I would have loved it.

ETA: Read to L. April 2015

ETA July 2022: L was cleaning out books recently to give away books she has outgrown, but she refuses to pass Fletcher down to her little sister. I don't blame her, I think Fletcher is pretty awesome, too.

[Gala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute story about a dog being jealous of a chick. He had a talk with his friends Otter and beaver. They helped him build an egg shell so that he could hatch a chirp like a baby bird. Their is a science lesson in this story because of the different ways that animals are born. Another lesson would be to always be yourself.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the books that disappeared when my mom shipped a box of childhood books to me and they never arrived. Fletcher, a very sweet hound dog, is very upset because his little girl is so interested in new chicks, and so he decides that he needs to come out of an egg to get her attention again. This is a good book about making news friends and keeping old ones.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memorable book from my childhood. I've never seen this since I was about 5 years old, but came across the cover here on goodreads, and it all came back to me. I remember that I loved this story as a child, and can remember the basic plot premise.

[Paul Hankins · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites as a child. When his owner is distracted by the birth of new chicks, jealous Fletcher goes away and tries to find a means by which he can regain his master's favor. Delightful illustrations with classic 70's style illustrations and character reactions. Happy endings for all.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Naturally I rooted for Fletcher the dog in this book, and think the true moral of the story is, don't forget to pay attention to your dog, stupid children! Don't let your dog run out of water in his bowl! Then your dog won't have to devise a scheme just to get your attention. Harumph.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this one! The animals will be familiar to young readers. The artwork is beautiful. The story provides an opportunity to talk about complex emotions and problem solving and opposing viewpoints. This book could be enjoyed by readers for several years.