Review by Booklist Review
Usually, when a dog gets adopted from a shelter, that's the ending of a story rather than the beginning. Here, however, Lucy is chosen on page 1, and good thing, too, because her time was almost up. In an honest portrayal of shelter dogs, this picture book shows Lucy with some issues. There's the hiding and the howling, which sounds more like crying. Remedies are tried, but nothing works, including the dog psychologist's advice to play classical music. Lucy howls right along. Just when it seems like Lucy will have to make a return trip, the narrator gives her a stuffed animal to sleep with. Success! More stuffed animals give even more security. A brief bit of tension occurs when one stuffie is lost, but lost soon becomes found. There's not much of a plot, but Barroux's pen-and-watercolor artwork is so terrific and filled with real emotion that it's hardly noticeable. The square-shaped dog and the round-headed girl make an endearing duo, but perhaps the cleverest touch is the stamped-print wah-ooo-oos coming from Lucy's mouth and sprayed around the pages. Never have howls have been more heartfelt.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"WAH-OOO-OOO-ROO!" That's the nonstop howl that Lucy, a rescued pound puppy has been emitting since arriving in her new home-and her well-meaning adoptive family is at wits' end. In a particularly inspired touch, Barroux shows the howling onomatopoeia literally clogging the air and piling up on the floor as the confounded humans wonder: what if there's no cure for Lucy's misery? what if-gasp-she has to go back to the pound? This is the fourth pairing for Barroux and Ziefert, who collaborated most recently on My Dog Thinks I'm a Genius (2011), and once again they're hand-in-glove. With luminous, naif watercolors (Lucy is essentially one rectangle balanced on another) and restrained prose, they effortlessly balance poignancy and comedy, making the Keatonesque Lucy as sympathetic as she is enigmatic. So skillful are they in setting the scene and building suspense that when the young narrator finally stumbles on a way to end the howling ("Lucy, I think you need a friend"), a sense of joyful relief should wash over readers, much as it does for the fictional family. Ages 4-up. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Lucy, a small white dog with a black spot over one eye, is adopted from the animal shelter and taken to her new home by a young girl and her father. When the barking of a neighbor's dog scares her, the pup begins to howl and howl and howl. The girl puts on earmuffs, as Lucy's "Wah-ooo-ooo-roo" fills the air. As the story progresses, the word is written countless times, covering the big orange chair, the kitchen counter, and the couch and floor of the dog psychologist's office. Unfortunately the homemade treats, the comfy dog bed, and the soft lullabies are no help at all. Just when the long-suffering parents think Lucy may have to go back to the shelter, the little girl offers the unhappy little dog a stuffed animal, and the howling stops. Lucy loves this new friend and soon has quite a collection, including the child's toy giraffe. Youngsters will sigh with relief when Lucy at last becomes the perfect puppy. The whimsical cartoon illustrations are done in a combination of muted and bright colors, and the repeated use of the dog's sad howl is very moving. While the simple text will appeal to emerging readers, this story of a difficult pet settling into a new home is also a perfect fit for storytimes.-Mary Jean Smith, formerly at Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A little girl brings Lucy, a white dog with a black circle around one eye, home from the pound, but the dog will not stop howling--until Lucy collects a family of her owner's stuffed animals to share her bed. In small handwritten font, Lucy's howls ("wah-ooo-ooo-roo") fill many of the illustrations, conveying the magnitude of her sadness in this simple, satisfying story. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
