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Dogs

BALL

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Sullivan
Author's First Name: 
Mary
Publisher: 
Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: 
2013
2013 Nomination (not yet selected): 

From a first glance at the cover, the sense is that this book is going to deliver some laughs. Dogs lying on their backs look so vulnerable and, well, silly, and this one cannot take his eyes off of his ball. The ball. What is it about balls that make dogs go so bonkers? It's a toy, yes, but it also is a connection with their human. A ball dropped at a human's feet means, "Play with me, pleeeeeez" and the message is so packed with neediness that one can never turn them down. This single-mindedness obsession is evident on the first page where our dog is waking up in his little girl's bed with a ball already in his mouth. As she dresses for school she throws the ball every chance she gets. But he knows what it means when she walks out that door and the expression on his face with a clock on the wall behind him shows how desperate he is for 'ball!" He tries to play with mom, baby, cat, and even clothes hamper. Not so much fun. He finally falls asleep and dreams of "ball!" When he hears movement near the front door he goes apoplectic as he anticipates his little girl coming in to play "ball!" This wordless picture books needs absolutely no words because EVERYTHING is in the illustrations. This is a wonderful adventure with a wonderfully insane dog and kids who know and love dogs will love it. Up to Seven. Joan Kindig

MAGRITTE'S MARVELOUS HAT

Magritte's Marvelous Hat
Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Johnson
Author's First Name: 
D. B.
Illustrator's First Name: 
D. B.
Illustrator's Last Name: 
Johnson
Publisher: 
HMH (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Publication Date: 
2012

A dog plays the painter in this clever introduction to the Belgian surrealist, Magritte. When he attempts to control his muse (an impetuous bowler hat), a game of hide-and-seek ensues through mixed-media parodies of his famous paintings while cellophane pages enhance the visual tricks.

THE TROUBLE WITH CHICKENS: A J. J. TULLY MYSTERY

Trouble with Chickens cover
Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Cronin
Author's First Name: 
Doreen
Illustrator's First Name: 
Kevin
Illustrator's Last Name: 
Cornell
Publisher: 
Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: 
2011

BONE DOG

Bone Dog
Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Rohmann
Author's First Name: 
Eric
Publisher: 
Roaring Brook
Publication Date: 
2011

Ella, Gus’s elderly dog, promises Gus that she will always be with him, but after she dies, Gus spends a lonely Halloween cavorting with skeletons in the cemetery. Gus’s reappearance is part of the night’s spooky but endearing magic. Firm horizontals and thickly outlined figures keep the story grounded.

BAILEY

Bailey
Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Bliss
Author's First Name: 
Harry
Publisher: 
Scholastic
Publication Date: 
2011

Wearing his backpack, Bailey walks to the school bus, admiring a stick along the way, anticipating the wind ruffling his fur through the window, and waiting to plunge into the lunch room garbage pail. Humorous illustrations capture his unusual but clearly doglike adventures.
 

Snook Alone

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Nelson
Author's First Name: 
Marilyn
Illustrator's First Name: 
Timothy
Illustrator's Last Name: 
Ewing
Publisher: 
Candlewick
Publication Date: 
2010
2013 Nomination (not yet selected): 
A story of love, friendship and loyalty. A monk lives on a small island with his faithful friend, a rat terrier. A terrible storm separates them and the dog has several adventures in the natural world (some quite scary) before being reunited with his very best friend. The pictures are lush and powerful, Nelson takes on a very different subject with subtly and grace.

HOW ROCKET LEARNED TO READ

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Hills
Author's First Name: 
Tad
Publisher: 
Schwartz & Wade
Publication Month: 
July
Publication Date: 
2010

Captivated by an unfinished story, Rocket the dog is introduced to the “wondrous, mighty, gorgeous alphabet” by a little yellow bird. Young children will identify with Rocket's initial reluctance to learn as well as his eventual love of books.

STAR IN THE FOREST

Star in the Forest cover
Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Resau
Author's First Name: 
Laura
Publisher: 
Delacorte
Publication Date: 
2010

After her illegal-immigrant father is deported to Mexico, eleven-year-old Zitlally believes that protecting a skinny stray dog she calls Star will keep her father safe, too.  But Star disappears. Can Zitlally’s trailer-park neighbor, Crystal, help?

HIP HOP DOG

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Raschka
Author's First Name: 
Chris
Illustrator's First Name: 
Vladimir
Illustrator's Last Name: 
Radunsky
Publisher: 
HarperCollins
Publication Date: 
2010
2013 Nomination (not yet selected): 
This posturing pooch has some great attitude... if you can wrap your tongue around his smooth tough freestyling! Raschka's definitely gotten silly with this one, poking fun at hardcore boastful rap and the hip hop personae while making an attempt at defining its allure. Radunsky's blotchy illustrations - remarkably Raschka-esque - capture the juvenile tough pup at home in his cool-toned urban environment. Words are printed in differing font sizes and in moving shapes to help the reader read aloud. Remarkably funny for its dogginess, too, i.e. when the rhythm of the language devolves into woofing.

NUBS: THE TRUE STORY OF A MUTT, A MARINE & A MIRACLE

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Dennis
Author's First Name: 
Brian
Second Author's First Name: 
Kirby
Second Author's Last Name: 
Larson
Illustrator's First Name: 
Mary
Illustrator's Last Name: 
Nethery
Publisher: 
Little, Brown
Publication Date: 
2009

It’s against rules, but a Marine befriends an Iraqi wild dog that steadfastly follows his unit in the desert. Inviting photos include the machines and landscape of a soldier’s daily life and warmly depict a true story that ends happily.

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