A gentle delight, simultaneously honoring both the dog dePaola lost and the artist we lost in turn.
For this posthumously published work, dePaola draws one final time upon close personal experience to pen a picture book, this one an ode to his beloved dog Brontë.
Speaking in the first person, dePaola walks readers through the early days of Brontë’s life, from the moment he picked the pooch up at the airport to the pink collar the dog wore. As Brontë ages, he loses his sight but remains loving. And when the dog does at last die, dePaola moves through his grief, eventually finding comfort in the knowledge that “I knew you were right there, still with me, in my heart forever.” The story evokes other tender tales by dePaola, also inspired by moments in his life. Meanwhile, images throughout the book are peppered with references to dePaola’s books, like a spaghetti dinner attended by a guest reminiscent of the protagonist of the Caldecott Honor–winning Strega Nona. Tasked with illustrating the title after dePaola’s passing, McClintock pays tribute to his art while also managing to retain her own particular style. The love between man and dog is palpable in every spread. And while the book will speak to children who have said goodbye to pets of their own, it will also aid readers in grieving for the author himself.
A gentle delight, simultaneously honoring both the dog dePaola lost and the artist we lost in turn. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781534418509
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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