FETCH

At the beach, a dog’s game of fetch becomes an exploration of the natural environment.

A retriever splashes into the water in pursuit of a beloved red ball and in so doing offers readers a fantastical canine perspective of coastal life. As the determined dog swims, dives and plays, a school of rockfish flurries below, a harbor seal peers through kelp, and several dolphins cruise by. As she did in Nest (2014), Hurley limits herself to one word per spread, each one thoughtfully designed and executed. Vertically turned spreads reveal the water’s depth, and readers’ eyes must move—to the right as the dog journeys away and back left to the point of origin, as the dog returns to the owner, to home. While the story arc is clear, and the minimalistic approach in both text and illustration is pleasing, this lacks the pizzazz of the author’s debut work, where the change of seasons provided a more dynamic visual display. Here, the cool palette combined with the flat, graphic style does not have the same climatic effect—perhaps if done in silk screen rather than digitally, it would be more compelling. Still, there is much for the dog lover and coastal dweller to enjoy.

Attractive and crisp.