A touching tribute to a dog lover and all sorts of canines.
A lyrical ode to man’s best friend, complete with hand-drawn depictions of a wide range of breeds.
Schenck’s (Priests and Warriors, 2013) children’s book, written in tribute to the author’s late uncle Earl Langford, describes the canine kingdom from the perspective of the animals themselves, using “I” and “we” to trace their evolutionary heritage from wild animals to the domesticated creatures we recognize today. With illustrations drawn by Uncle Earl’s wife, Ethel Langford, the realistic renderings have captions with breed names and physical characteristics such as height and weight. Most depictions show dogs grouped by breed and in action, such as huskies and malamutes working as sled dogs in snowdrifts. The journey, written in poetic prose, weaves in elements of Uncle Earl’s life with dogs, especially related to hunting: Bird dogs flush out prey, retrievers fetch downed animals, terriers herd livestock, others even swim and nap with Uncle Earl. In the story’s insistent stanzas, the dogs' plea to humankind—dog owners, lovers and keepers—is to treat them well, play with them and love them. Implicit in this entreaty is that part of loving animals is respecting their abilities and acknowledging their powers, not treating them like toys by docking their tails or clipping their ears. Verses filled with scenes of dogs at play attempt to extrapolate a kind of canine moral code: Dogs bark and growl because they defend what they love; they chase and nip because they are forever hunting. Though the story meanders into asides with details about the history and habits of certain breeds, owners of such dogs will nod in agreement: Herding blue heelers “long to nip at the cattle hoofs,” and intelligent basenjis “think upon dreams / of how [they] should rearrange the house.” Schenck keeps the matter of being a good dog and good dog owner at the forefront, without delving into a specific relationship of any one dog with Uncle Earl. Such an expansive survey of the dog world ensures animal lovers will spot their favorite breed, with a two-page index listing breeds alphabetically.
A touching tribute to a dog lover and all sorts of canines.Pub Date: June 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-1499517927
Page Count: 64
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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