Review by Booklist Review
PreS-K. The sounds of the simple rhyming words are fun and so is the action in this Step 1 reader in the Step into Reading series. Hog shines at soccer (Ball Hog ); Dog is the star at basketball (Tall Dog ). The action-packed pictures show them cheering for each other, even though they don't always get on. When they play hide-and-seek, Hog sees Dog peek! / Dog is sad. / Now Hog feels bad. But they make up, and play ping-pong together. It's the elemental drama of friends who quarrel, with words in big type and brightly colored art telling the story in a way that will appeal to new readers. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
Friends Hog and Dog play several games and sports together, including soccer, basketball, and finally Ping-Pong. With just two or three words per page, this easiest of early readers may be accessible, but the garish cartoony figures with little expression may not inspire young readers. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two friends play a variety of games, have a falling-out and make up over ping-pong in this earliest of readers. Rarely exceeding four words to the spread, the text, such as it is, is made up of terse phrases that sometimes achieve the status of sentence. Rhyming is a key feature--hence the introduction of the almost certainly new vocabulary word, "Hog," to name the pink critter most readers will recognize as "Pig"--a phonics technique that sits pedagogically well with the audience. Harris's bright and cheery illustrations work hard to extend the minimalist text, depicting "Ball hog" as he maneuvers on the soccer field and "Tall dog" in a slam-dunk. There is little nuance available, however; the characters either grin vacantly or frown sadly, after Hog catches Dog cheating at hide-and-seek, creating a rift in the friendship. The whole is agreeable enough, and certainly serviceable, but lacks the sly humor, character development and narrative strength of David Milgrim's Otto and Pip stories--an argument, perhaps, for purchasing extra copies of these latter-day masterpieces and bypassing this offering. (Easy reader. 4-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
