THE BARKING BALLAD

An interactive, melodic adventure involving an unlikely pair.

Following instructions at the start, readers are requested to participate by making a barking sound anytime a red circle appears and meowing anytime there is a yellow diamond. It is, after all, a “bark-along, meow-along book.” Inspired by Oliver Goldsmith’s “An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog” (from which it lifts one complete stanza and also the poem’s rhythm), the tale begins with a stray cat in a neighborhood of many dogs. The cat is hiding, stealthy, until one dog sniffs her out. This black pup, whose fur, rendered in Paschkis’ characteristic folk-art style, resembles a Renaissance ruff collar, just wants to play. In an abrupt turn of events (that takes its lead from its elegiac form), “One day a rock fell from above / and knocked the dog near dead. // With tender tongue and gentle love / the cat repaired his head.” After that, the duo becomes inseparable (the barking and meowing prompts, which were at first individual, are now combined). In a rousing cacophonous finale, “A hundred barks ring through the park” (red circles cover the page) “and one small stray meow” (a tiny yellow diamond conclusion). A large storytime crowd may not be able to see the symbols, but a clever leader can still orchestrate the group, and it will be great fun in a lap with pre-readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Anything but ruff.