NO MORE BOWS

A dog resists playing dress-up with his little girl.

Milly is a little white girl with red hair who has a big yellow dog called Hugo, with whom she plays tea party and dress-up with until it's time for a walk. Hugo’s amiable until she ties a bow on him, and the humiliated dog gets rid of it as soon as possible—but there's a new bow the next day and the next.…After days of progressively more outlandish bows, Hugo runs away to the city. But after seeing a happy dog wearing a bow with its own happy little girl, he misses Milly and runs home to get her, leading her to a most distinguished-looking bow. The next day, Hugo struts through the streets with his new bow. Cotterill's art style is a delight, with blocks of colors and patterns, a mix of brights and earth tones reminiscent of 1960s European cartoons, and she adds heavy black lines sparingly—to best effect with facial expressions. The story's basic take-away is "life is better with friends" but also perfectly demonstrates how to reframe new experiences to allow joy over discomfort. There are some clever elements in the art, most notably the way Hugo uses his bow to make a classic “hobo stick” when he runs away.

An enjoyable, repeatable read-aloud with memorable art that will have readers hoping for another outing with Hugo.