Skunkdog, by Emily Jenkins (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008,
30 pages, $16.95)
Just what is a skunkdog, anyway?
Dog Gets ‘Skunked’ by
New ‘Friend’
Little girls will love the sweet story, little boys will
love the ribald ‘skunkiness,’ and parents will commiserate with the foibles of
having a dog in the family – the exuberance, the throwing up in the car, . . .
.
The Star of our Story
– A functionally noseless, definitely friendless, but nicely obedient and brave
Dumpling!
Every human and animal character in the book has an unusual
nose – usually a big one – even the skunk.
Dumpling the dog, however, even with his oversized canine
nose, smells nothing. . . .nothing - which gets him into trouble and helps
him find a friend. How can that
be?
Lessons
The only drawback to this book, which can serve as a
conversation starter for the family as a whole, is the dog’s living arrangement
- in the backyard in a doghouse rather than inside with his boy. Also talkable
aboutable is why not to drag a dog by the collar.
The Lonely Dumpling
Finds a Friend at Last, But. . . .
The family moves to the country and Dumpling makes a new
friend, a skunky friend. But is the skunk really a friend?
The family learns by trial and error, the best way to
deskunk a dog. You will too (added bonus).
Recommendation
Cute illustrations – the inside cover shows a bush with a
wagging tail and two shoes (obviously on an upside-down kid) poking above it.
Whimsical phrases to savor on your tongue.
Lovely book about friendship.
No comments:
Post a Comment