A doggy love note, but it’s no better than a bland alternative to Harry the Dirty Dog (1956) or such descendants as Lori...
Grub is such a muddy, mucky, messy dog! What to do?
Despite strenuous efforts, Ruby can’t stop Grub from digging in the garden, rolling in dirt, tracking paw prints all over the house, and splashing her in the bath. Finally he digs a hole under the fence, and that’s the last straw for Mom: off he goes to stay with Uncle Tom, who has three dogs already. Instantly the household just doesn’t feel right—not to Ruby, nor to her mom (“The garden’s too tidy”), dad (“The house is too clean”), or little brother Joe (“GUB!!!”). Unsurprisingly, the exile doesn’t last long. Grub, portrayed as a small, flop-eared bundle of relentless energy, often seems out of control but seldom looks grimy enough to create the messes he leaves in Warburton’s sketchy, informally drawn domestic scenes. Though the shared adoration between girl and dog lights up the whole episode, Ruby’s narrative tends toward wordiness: “When I shout, ‘Stop digging!’ he doesn’t stop digging. Do you know what he does? He keeps digging!” The abject surrender at the end (“Now the house is a mess, the garden is a mess, everywhere’s a mess. But it doesn’t matter…”) begs any sort of realistic resolution or coping strategy.
A doggy love note, but it’s no better than a bland alternative to Harry the Dirty Dog (1956) or such descendants as Lori Mortensen and Michael Allen Austin’s Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg (2013). (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: June 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0085-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts.
Ohtani, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, teams up with Blank and Liem to tell the story of how his dog, Decoy, threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
It’s a big day! Decoy leaps “off the bed. Then back onto the bed. Then off the bed.” The enthusiastic pup heads outside to practice with his lucky baseball but is quickly distracted by squirrels (“we’ll play later!”), airplanes (“flyin’ high!”), and flowers (“smell ya soon!”). Dog and pitcher then head to the ballpark. In the locker room, Decoy high-paws Shohei’s teammates. It’s nearly time! But as Shohei prepares to warm up, Decoy realizes that he’s forgotten something important: his lucky ball. Without it, there will be “no championships, no parades, and no hot dogs!” Back home he goes, returning just in time. With Shohei at the plate, Decoy runs from the mound to his owner, rolling the ball into Shohei’s mitt for a “Striiiiike!” Related from a dog’s point of view, Ohtani and Blank’s energetic text lends the tale a sense of urgency and suspense. Liem’s illustrations capture the excitement of the first day of baseball season and the joys of locker room camaraderie, as well as Shohei and Decoy’s mutual affection—even when the ball is drenched in slobber, Shohei’s love for his pet shines through, and clearly, Decoy is focused when it matters.
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780063460775
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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