SEB AND HAMISH

When Seb and his mother visit their new neighbor in this British import, he isn’t sure he wants to get to know her boisterous dog, Hamish.

Mrs Kenny greets her visitors with decorated cookies, but even these don’t assuage Seb’s fear of the barking, exuberant dachshund, Hamish. Mrs Kenny assures him that the dog is simply excited, but she kindly shuts Hamish away to make Seb comfortable. She and Seb’s mother visit while Seb entertains himself with a toy train. When he stops for a bite of cookie, a piece falls and rolls under the door to the waiting Hamish. Seb hears the dog sniffing for more and bravely peeks under the crack at the bottom of the door. This leads the toddler to open it just a bit to get a fuller look at Hamish, who calmly waits on his side without pushing door or boy. Seb is emboldened to the point where he goes into the room with Hamish, and soon, Mama and Mrs Kenny discover the two curled up for a nap. While the resolution seems a bit unlikely and quick (why is Hamish suddenly so gentle and calm?), the story addresses a fear that other books neglect in their reiteration of the assumption that all children love animals. The illustrations slyly point up Mrs Kenny’s affection for dogs with dachshund-themed decor and affectionately depict the story’s events.

A fresh take on dog books.