This endearing introduction to dog behavior will please those who already have a dog and make those who don’t want to join...
This episodic collection of insights into canine behavior features dogs of many breeds, sizes, and ages, with a cast of charming toddlers and preschoolers describing their dogs.
The text is divided into topical sections about meeting and getting to know a dog, training, going on outings, playing together, and special kinds of loving behavior. Each section shows different children interacting with their own dogs in all sorts of situations, described with just a few words of text with the child as narrator. “My dog loves belly rubs,” says one child, demonstrating on a happy terrier; “My dog likes to lick!” says another, as she receives a big, wet one on the cheek. The text flows in a logical fashion, with each child chiming in, and the particular behavior or description extends through several different dogs. The whole gamut of canine behavior is covered: leashes, names, going potty, eating, playing, sleeping, and getting into trouble. Isadora’s spare ink-and-watercolor illustrations are delightfully amusing, whether showing the children romping with their dogs or having a quiet snuggle. Each page presents two or three vignettes of child and dog surrounded by plenty of white space, which, along with the oversized format, provides a fresh, clean feeling overall. The illustrations include children of many different ethnicities, a female vet, and a child who uses a wheelchair.
This endearing introduction to dog behavior will please those who already have a dog and make those who don’t want to join the fun. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-399-17385-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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