W.D. THE WONDER DOG

by Cary Boggs ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

Boggs's first book is about W.D., a dog who wonders about everything. From the moment he wakes up in the morning until the time he sleeps at night, W.D muses over typical events in the canine and human world. ""He wonders what makes the toast pop up from the toaster. W.D. wonders if he should chew on his bone, or on Kate's old red slipper. He wonders if he smells bad enough for Kate's mother to say, 'Into the tub, W.D.' ""The repetition becomes tedious; the dog's ponderings never amount to a story. Despite that, the W.D. of the pictures has all the personality of fellow bull terriers Boodil and Monsieur Bibot's Marcel. Winsome, scratchy pastels have a smudged, tactile, leaf-rubbing child appeal. Forthright pencil outlines, flat perspectives, and crayon-box colors show W.D. in all his moods: hopeful, wistful, intelligent, content, sleepy. Boggs has a nice sense of humor in this attempt to offer the inner life of man's best friend, but the story ends on the same note that launched it, and without the inside-a-dog's-mind hilarity of Susan Meddaugh's Martha books. The pictures, on the other hand, invite viewers to sail into the dog's imagination, complete with midnight blue endpapers, a heavenly landscape of doggy dreamland where dog bones fly among the stars and collars are not needed.

Pub Date: April 1, 1998

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1998

Categories: CHILDREN'S