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LUCKY BOY

Name: LUCKY BOY
Author: Susan Boase
ISBN: 0-618-13175-2

by Susan Boase & illustrated by Susan Boase ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2002

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Newcomer Boase offers a sweet tale of a dog that finds a loving home with a lonely older man who has recently lost his wife. At first the dog is just called Boy, a forlorn and unwanted dog who has to live in the backyard while his busy owners go about their business. He tunnels under the fence and into the neighbor’s garden (and straight into the man’s lonely heart), finding warmth and companionship. The man gives the dog his first bath, changing his fur color from brown to white and his name from Boy to Lucky Boy. (The neighbors haven’t bothered to look for their brown dog, and don’t even recognize the white dog as theirs when they see him.) The story is rather long and the characters’ emotions are told rather than shown, but the genuine need and love between the widower and the dog are touching nonetheless. Boase’s soft-focus pencil illustrations are reproduced in brown with matching brown type, with a wide variation in illustration size and perspective. No new ground is covered here; just a quiet, gentle story for one-on-one sharing, especially in families with lucky dogs of their own. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 25, 2002

ISBN: 0-618-13175-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
MISSING!
by Wendy Orr & illustrated by Susan Boase

- BOOK REVIEW
LOST! A DOG CALLED BEAR
by Wendy Orr & illustrated by Susan Boase

- BOOK REVIEW
PETER PETER PICKS A PUMPKIN HOUSE
by Christine Graham & illustrated by Susan Boase

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WHY A DAUGHTER NEEDS A MOM

by Gregory R. Lange ; illustrated by Sydney Hanson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2019

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.

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All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.

Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)

Pub Date: May 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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BECAUSE YOUR DADDY LOVES YOU

by Andrew Clements & illustrated by R.W. Alley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2005

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Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)