Review by New York Times Review
ROMANTIC LOVE, platonic love, parental i love - I'd hate to live without any of them.! But dog love took me by surprise a year ago, when it arrived relatively late in life s with Marco, my first dog. So, like many be- í fore me, I became a seeker-outer of dog books. Dog picture books, especially, which are easy to enjoy with or without a child. (If Î you doubt that, please watch the YouTube ( video of Betty White reading "Harry the ¡ Dirty Dog," which has over five million i views.) All animals have lessons for us, but none have as much to show fledgling hu- | mans - and some of us older ones - about finding and losing, playing and working, caring and staying true. And the creators of . dog picture books deliver those while blatantly dialing up the emotions - who can forget the scene in "Madeline's Rescue" where Genevieve gives birth toll puppies? In that grand tradition, these five new books are the pick of the litter. CORI DOERRFELD'S WONDERFUL "The Rabbit Listened" used a stuffed bunny to offer a gentle tutorial in the magic of staying quiet and letting children express what's bothering them, and now in GOOD DOG (HarperCollins, 40 pp., $17.99; ages 3 to 6) She tells a more playful but equally satisfying tale of a stray dog who finds his person in the form of a little girl who has lost her stuffed bear. Each page has just two words, one of them "dog" - "hungry dog," "hopeful dog," "brave dog" - while Doerrfeld's soft, pleasingly round illustrations make clear what's happening. Non-dog owners, beware the page where she turns to her parents and says, "My dog?" ANOTHER KIND of who-rescued-whom Story IS FOUND. (Simon & Schuster, 40 pp., $17.99; ages 3 to 8), by Jeff Newman and Larry Day, a sweet narrative that unfolds through pictures alone, with words appearing only in signs and objects in the background. We see a sad girl looking out the window, and a brown dog wandering in the rain. She takes him up the stairs of her rowhouse. He settles in, and she feeds him from a dog bowl labeled "Prudence"; she's less sure about letting him play with Prudence's ball. On a jaunt to the pet store to buy a new ball, she spots a poster: Someone's looking for the dog she found. She gathers herself and returns him to his rightful owners. On the walk home, a sad bulldog peers out a shelter window, and on the last page we glimpse that dog scampering out of view in her house. The story is so tightly constructed there's almost no room for interpretation, and I like that. The vigorous pen-and-ink art leaves a lot of white space on the page, with just occasional washes of color, adding to a sense that the book is a straightforward puzzle you're solving with visual clues, like the colors of the balls that belong to each dog. Of course, there's an overarching fantasy element - the girl appears to live with no parents and no adult figures intrude on her decision-making. But isn't that one of the best things dogs can give kids, a sense of their own power? THE DELIGHTFUL COMICS-STYLE GOOD ROSIE! (Candlewick, 40 pp., $16.99; ages 4 to 8), written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Harry Bliss, stars a little white and brown terrier named Rosie. She has a pleasant daily routine with her owner, George, but she doesn't have any dog friends, so she's lonely. (You suspect George, a fussily dressed older gentleman with a balding dome of a head, may be lonely too.) One day, George takes Rosie to the dog park, where a St. Bernard named Maurice tries to befriend her. Rosie feels he's too big and loud. Then an irritatingly "small, yippy" dog named Fifi arrives. Again, no. Rosie is lonely even at the dog park. But a mishap occurs: Maurice almost swallows tiny Fifi. After Rosie delivers a strategic bite on the leg, Maurice coughs Fifi back up. She is fine, though her collar now says "Fif." Is friendship possible after all that? You bet! The newly renamed Fif leads the way, asking Rosie directly, "Do you want to be friends with a dog named Fif?" The final page shows a grinning George looking on as the dog friends play - and he's flanked by two ladies who must be the owners of Fif and Maurice. DiCamillo, whose many books include the Newbery Medal-winning "The Tale of Despereaux," packs an emotional punch in picture books, chapter books or novels, and Bliss is a wry New Yorker cartoonist and the author-illustrator of the sophisticated picture books "Grace for Gus" and "Luke on the Loose." Together they've created a remarkable guide to making friends: Be honest and direct about what you want, and don't bite. "Good Rosie!" is divided into eight sections, like mini-chapters, slowing down the pace and making it not just a good read-aloud but a fantastic choice for newly independent readers. MARLA FRAZEE'S LITTLE BROWN (Beach Lane, 32 pp., $17.99; ages 4 to 8), a parable about a dog with no friends who hoards all the toys at the dog park, is an unusual dog book in that it's frankly dark, beginning with the muddy colors and foreboding look of its tall pages. Frazee, the creator of "Boss Baby" and many other brilliantly funny and pointed picture books, is not so much offering a lesson as challenging her audience to do better, be more just and kind, figure out how everyone can get a fair share. The dog named Little Brown begins the book "cranky" and alienated, and at the end he's still cranky and alienated, only he's sitting atop a pile of treasure. Two questions linger: Is he lonely because he's greedy, or is he greedy because he's lonely? And how can we fix a situation like this, where a tyrant calls the shots? "Maybe tomorrow they would know what to do," the book ends. In 2018 America it's hard to take that as hopeful, but I'm trying. IF THE STATE of the world or anything else is putting you in need of a good cry, I recommend Laura Vaccaro Seeger's blue (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, 32 pp., $17.99; ages 3 to 8). It's another book that uses only two words on each page. This time the phrases all include the word blue - "chilly blue," "true blue" - the better to show off Seeger's thick, brushy art and die-cut holes, which are reminiscent of her Caldecott Honor-winning "Green." Seeger walks you through the life span of a good dog belonging to a little boy who grows to be a man just as the dog passes into the great beyond. (It's a tip of the hat, perhaps, to the folk song "Old Blue.") The ending made both me and my husband cry. Our 8-yearold son seemed unmoved, but that may be because his first dog is still young. Still, his reaction tugged at my heart, making me realize that some day, he'll come back to the book with sadder, wiser eyes. Tempus fugit, but especially, it seems, when you love a dog. MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor at the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [July 11, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
As a girl looks out of her upstairs window, she sees a bedraggled brown dog slogging through puddles in the alley. She jumps into action, carries him into the house, and provides him with a bowl of food and a soft bed. In one energetic two-page spread, the girl attempts puppy training: fetch, sit, and roll over (which results in panels of humorous play). When she sees a poster claiming that this very pup is actually someone else's dog, she is devastated but does the right thing, returning him to his owner. A happy ending comes when she sees a forlorn and hopeful boxer in the Humane Society shelter window. Pen-and-ink, watercolor, and gouache make the illustrations pop against the expansive white pages. The limited text and realistic pictures make this an easy tale for small children to follow. Expressive faces on the dog and child are full of emotion viewers will see the thought process happening, and feel the love passing between the two companions.--Lolly Gepson Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this wordless tale about a child who learns to love a new dog, a girl gazes out her apartment window on a rainy day and spots something below. A page turn reveals what she sees: a puppy wading miserably through a puddle. As the girl brings it inside, she pauses to gaze at a bedside photo that shows her hugging another dog; a "Missing" poster on her bulletin board reveals that dog's destiny. Despite a tough moment when the new hound takes up her lost dog's red ball, she shares an existing dog bed and food dish with the newcomer-only to find, on a trip to the pet shop, that this pup is "Missing," too. The girl not only allows herself to love but also understands that her love isn't as important as what this pup needs most. The pair's all-too-brief idyll is gently and memorably drawn, and the girl's independence in a big city-there are no parents in sight-allows focus on her interior journey and genuinely noble decision. Ages 4-8. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-A wordless picture book about a young girl who, while mourning the loss of her missing dog Prudence, rescues a lost dog and faces the inevitable decisions that come with loving and letting go again. Rendered in pen and ink with splashes of subtle watercolor and vibrant gouache, Day's illustrations elegantly highlight Jenn's varied emotions. In a mostly stark, black-and-white world, the use of color for only certain objects, like Jenn's clothes and the dog she rescues, draws attention to the action of the story as well as the overall mood. On a rainy night, Jenn rescues the lost dog Roscoe. Readers soon realize why Jenn is sad. Her world is still mostly monochromatic, but slowly bursts forth into pure color as her heart opens to Roscoe. There is a series of vignettes with them running together, playing ball, and rolling around on the ground. It's when she ties Roscoe to a green telephone pole outside a pet store to buy things for him, that she notices the "Lost" sign with his picture. She wrestles with the choice of what to do. Jenn brings Roscoe back to his original owner and, downtrodden, walks past the Humane Society window, where a forlorn bulldog holds one paw against a window. The ending spread reveals a glimpse of the bulldog's tail disappearing into Jenn's kitchen. This is a beautiful wordless book about love in all its messiness and what it means to open your heart, experience loss, and then open it again. VERDICT A first purchase.-Rachel Zuffa, Case High School, Racine, WI © Copyright 2018. 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 sense of isolation permeates the opening spreads of this wordless story as a girl gazes out at a rain-drenched city street from an apartment window. She soon spots a little lost dog, and a page-turn reveals the now-raincoat-clad girl running upstairs while clutching the pup. Readers soon discover, thanks to a flyer pinned to a bedroom bulletin board, that the girl has previously lost a different dog, whose name was Prudence. After the new dogs successful acclimation to Prudences old bowl and bed, the pair hits a glitch when the new dog wants to play with Prudences ball and leash. Our protagonist isnt quite ready to share those keepsakes and becomes visibly upseta tension emphasized by Days choice to exclude all background imagery from the spread. A restful nights sleep and playful morning outside (featuring an exuberantly illustrated rolling-down-a-hill scene) assuage both the child and little dogs trepidations; however, the girl is soon confronted with a lost sign featuring the same little dog, and she must make the difficult decision to do the right thing. Days pen-and-ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations are set against stark white backgrounds and, through varying page layouts and purposeful pops of color, convey a clear narrative, express a range of emotions, and meaningfully guide the readers eye. patrick gall January/February 2019 p 81(c) Copyright 2018. 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.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
After losing their own beloved pet, a young child finds and returns a lost puppy in this wordless picture book from Newman and Day.On a rainy night, a forlorn pup wanders into a young child's view. The child doesn't hesitate to bring the little dog inside, and once the two are safe and dry inside, photos on the wall and a few abandoned dog toys reveal that the child has lost their own dog. The friendship between the pair is tentative at first, but as the little dog sweetly persists, the child's reticence melts away. But no sooner does the pair begin to bond than they come upon a flier with the pup's picture, and reluctantly the child gives up and returns their new friend. The quiet in this picture book goes far beyond a simple absence of words. The beautifully and visually crafted hush is a wellspring of emotion: the agony of loss, the exuberance of a sudden friendship, the resignation of a hard decision, and finally the guarded hope of a new beginning. Day's ink-and-watercolor illustrations shape the story and capture feelingthat most elusive of narrative dimensionsin effortless sequences of movement and masterful use of color and perspective. The child has fluffy, black hair and paper-white skin.A story that will break hearts so it can put them back together. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
