Wealthy, serious businessdog Mr. Basset learns the value of friends and play in this humorous cautionary tale. With the help of his terrier servant, Walter, Mr. Basset explores a too-rich adult’s idea of play: they buy a 60-foot yacht, collect works of art, and try horseback riding, but none of these pursuits satisfies Mr. Basset. He grows sad and withdrawn, until “his nose was warm and his fur had lost its luster.” Faithful Walter looks out the window one day at puppies and kittens playing ball, and suddenly realizes what Mr. Basset has been missing: friends. Walter takes Mr. Basset outside, where the depressed dog growls at the sight of the youngsters, until a ball sails his direction and he catches it in spite of himself. From there, it’s easy to join in the game, and the next day, Mr. Basset bounds out of bed, eager to play with his friends, including Walter. The text is full of phrases and words that remind readers the main characters are dogs; Mr. Basset “barks” and “whimpers” his words instead of “saying” them, and doggy expressions like “a list as long as the hind leg of a greyhound” add humor. The art is also full of such details: Mr. Basset’s important morning reading includes the Dog Street Journal and the Daily Wag; a computer on his desk is logged onto Barksberg.com. The large size of the soft, bright illustrations and the clear design make this a good choice for sharing with friends. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 1-59078-007-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2003
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
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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