Sometimes Drew loves books so much (like this one which she read on 4/16/12), she wishes books could adopt her.
*Starred Review* High-spirited and self-centered, Dog competes with his
four friends, one by one. He outruns Mole in a race, beats Goose in a
digging contest, bests Ladybug in terms of size, and swims better than
Donkey. Each time, he announces, “I win. I’m the best.” His friends feel
sad until they realize that Mole’s the best digger, Duck’s the best
swimmer, Donkey’s the biggest, and Ladybug can fly highest. Suddenly
realizing that he has been “a silly SHOW-OFF” and mean to his friends,
downcast Dog apologizes. After they reassure him that they value his
friendship and admire his “beautiful fluffy ears,” his irrepressible
bravado surges again. Dog’s simple, childlike narration moves the story
forward while making the most of this distinctive character and his
flip-flopping emotional state, from his thoughtless, heartless
declarations of superiority to his glum realization that he has hurt his
friends to his final exclamation about the supreme importance of fluffy
ears. The book’s large format gives plenty of range for Cousins’ naive,
expressive pencil-and-ink illustrations. From the exuberant text to the
bold, colorful artwork, a joyous spirit pervades this picture book and
its fallible yet lovable protagonist. Fine for reading aloud to
preschoolers who suspect that they may be fallible yet hope that they
are still lovable.
-Booklist
