Don't Lick the Dog: Making Friends with Dogs
PreSchool-Grade 2—This colorful picture book provides humorous information on how to make friends and interact with dogs. The tips are easy and useful, but are delivered in rhyme with an uneven meter that feels forced: "You're so polite!/You can pet these five,/but Maddie might bite." Or, "Before you give a treat to Kate/make your hand into a plate/Lick, lick, lick!/Too much is ick!/It's all right to say, ENOUGH/to all that/sloppy kissy stuff." The exaggerated, loose-line, cartoon art, filled with bright, digital hues, has a fragmented feel. The woman giving advice to the children wears black, pointy gloves and boots, resulting in a harsh, didactic tone. The concept and message are good ones and it's clear that careful thought and consideration went into the informative tips, but the execution is not entirely successful. Stephanie Calmenson'sMay I Pet Your Dog?(Clarion, 2007) and Elizabeth Verdick'sTails Are Not for Pulling(Free Spirit, 2005) are better alternatives.—Anne Beier, Hendrick Hudson Free Library, Montrose, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.