Sam wants a dog, but his parents insist he is not yet responsible enough to have one. Sam tries very hard to show his parents how good he can be by cleaning his room, eating his vegetables, and hanging up his hat. Finally, on Sam’s ninth birthday his wish is granted. He is given a soft, black puppy he names Dodger. Dodger proves to be a handful of rambunctious energy. He knocks over the garbage and chews up Sam’s baseball cap, making Sam “. . . so mad he almost cried.” Even when Dodger gets relegated to the backyard, he creates mischief by following Sam to school and knocking over the hamster cage. When Dodger upsets Sam’s Little League game by running off with the bat, it becomes clear that something must be done. Faced with giving Dodger away, Sam gets motivated. He rises early in the morning and begins a daily practice of training Dodger. Their hard work pays off, for at the next Little League game, Dodger proves himself more fun than trouble. Supported by full-bleed oil paintings in lush, enveloping colors, Gustavson’s (Where the Big Fish Are, 2001, etc.) talent lends warmth and depth to this work. Dodger is painted with the please-love-me quality of an irresistible shaggy dog. With text enough to keep an early reader busy, this is a perfect cautionary tale for a youngster about to get a first dog. Abercrombie (Michael and the Cats, not reviewed, etc.) illustrates without pedantry that a well-trained dog makes life happier and more harmonious for humans and canine alike. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-689-83782-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
Charming.
An assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.
Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, old-fashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin.
Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942485
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
One of the watershed moments in African-American history—the defeat of James Braddock at the hands of Joe Louis—is here given an earnest picture-book treatment. Despite his lack of athletic ability, Sammy wants desperately to be a great boxer, like his hero, getting boxing lessons from his friend Ernie in exchange for help with schoolwork. However hard he tries, though, Sammy just can’t box, and his father comforts him, reminding him that he doesn’t need to box: Joe Louis has shown him that he “can be the champion at anything [he] want[s].” The high point of this offering is the big fight itself, everyone crowded around the radio in Mister Jake’s general store, the imagined fight scenes played out in soft-edged sepia frames. The main story, however, is so bent on providing Sammy and the reader with object lessons that all subtlety is lost, as Mister Jake, Sammy’s father, and even Ernie hammer home the message. Both text and oil-on-canvas-paper illustrations go for the obvious angle, making the effort as a whole worthy, but just a little too heavy-handed. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-58430-161-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
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