Dogs http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Dogs-Emily-Gravett/9780230712485

By Emily Gravett

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About the Author

Emily Gravett is twice winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Nestle Children's Book Prize Bronze Award for her debut picture book WOLVES (978-1-4050-5362-3) and LITTLE MOUSE'S BIG BOOK OF FEARS (978-0-230-01619-4). An author/illustrator of unique talent and tremendous skill she has a host other of award-winning and critically acclaimed books to her name, including: ORANGE PEAR APPLE BEAR (978-1-4050-9022-9) MONKEY AND ME (978-0-230-01583-8) and THE ODD EGG (978-0-230-53135-2). Emily lives in Brighton with her partner, daughter and the family dogs.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 1-Dogs, like dinosaurs, are a surefire draw for young children, and this eponymously named picture book is bound to delight canine lovers. On the cover, a large, winsomely drawn hound, leash in mouth and begging to go out, irresistibly invites young readers to pick up the book and start turning the pages. In minimal, rhyming text, an unidentified narrator describes its favorite kinds of dogs-big, small, stripy, spotty, tough, and soft-and, along the way, offers a subtle lesson in the meaning of opposites. Expressive pencil drawings, overlaid with soft washes of watercolor on creamy stock, waggishly animate more than a dozen varieties of dogs, including an enormous, protective Great Dane; a soft and squishy bichon frise; and an energetic Dalmatian. (The endpapers identify the types of dogs portrayed.) The surprise ending reveals the identity of the narrator-a cat, which qualifies "favorite" as any hound that doesn't chase it. The pacing of the simple text and scale of the drawings lend this title equally well to preschool storytimes, lap-sharing, and emerging-reader fans of Biscuit and Dog and Bear. A winner.-Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.

As simple as its title and clever from the start-the copyright page text is arranged in the shape of a bone-Gravett's (Spells) ode to canines riffs on a single note: "I love dogs." Following that opening, an unseen narrator elaborates on a wide spectrum of beloved dogs. On the list are dogs large and small, ones that bark and those that don't, dogs that are slow or fast, and those that are hairy or bald. Exemplifying the different characteristics and behaviors are portraits of various breeds (identified on the endpapers) in emotionally evocative, gently humorous poses and situations. A "chic" pink poodle sporting a jeweled collar and hair bows peers with disdain at a "shabby" pooch with matted fur, who stands on an overturned garbage can. And two small dogs wear the nervous expressions of shy children as a pair of rowdy "dogs that play" tear into a stuffed dachshund. Gravett saves the most entertaining image for last, when the narrator's identity is revealed in a kid-pleasing finale. Ages 2-6. (Feb.) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.