This series starter is a doggone good time.
Just what makes a good dog—or a bad one, for that matter?
Hugo, an eager and ever helpful golden retriever, wants nothing more than to make his family happy but fears they’ve become too busy to need him. Lulu the fashionista Yorkie aims to become one of the “greatest celebri-dogs on Instagram”—with just a little help from her human, of course. And though young border collie mix King is trying his best to become an agility dog, there are just so many exciting things to run off and smell! All three puppy pals are Good Dogs, and proud of it. But a new French bulldog who crashes their doggy day care outing leaves more chaos in his wake than a mere overturned hot dog cart. All agree: He’s a “VERY BAD DOG.” All also agree: That bad dog was having fun. When a series of mishaps leaves these good dogs on their own for a day, they immediately seek the interloper out, hungry for a taste of badness. Not to mention hot dogs. Equal parts hilarious and hair-raising, adventures abound, enlivened by expressive cartoon illustrations. The bright, energetic narration flows seamlessly among the dogs’ delightfully distinctive perspectives, although the second half of the novel feels a bit rushed. A salient underlying message espouses the power of friendship. Human characters are diverse—Hugo’s family is Latinx; Lulu’s owner is a Black celebrity; King’s owner presents White—but the focus is on the dogs. Sequel Good Dogs With Bad Haircuts publishes simultaneously.
This series starter is a doggone good time. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-10844-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
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