Written by Greg Gormley, illustrated by Robert Angaramo

Dog In Boots is a lovable brown and white terrier-type pooch who reads a “brilliant book” about a cat with a truly magnificent pair of boots and thinks he would like the same. Happily (or not), the local shop owner has just such a thing – but our dog finds that perhaps they are not such a good idea after all. After a number of attempts at finding the ideal footwear, Dog finds the perfect paws for his activities.

This is a gentle tale about being happy with what you are that seemed to go over three-year-old Steven’s head, although I quite enjoyed the imaginative uses and problems of various types of footwear.

We both loved the colorful illustrations. Dog is an earnest sweetie who wears his dog heart on his sleeve, and simple emotions on his face. There were just enough details in the pictures (frightened fishes, doggie friends, a curious bird who appeared often) to keep a child’s interest and to provide opportunity for ancillary questions as we read, but not so many as to overwhelm a young listener.

I was particularly tickled by the end papers which showed Dog with his various footwear at the beginning of the book, and, at the back of the book, with an assortment of hats that he might have worn after reading Little Red Riding Hood as the story closed.

Overall, Dog In Boots is a lovely book. (4½)

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Written by James Herriot, and illustrated by Ruth Brown

Just what you would expect from Herriot: a lovely, rather meandering tale of a stray dog in the market. The story was perhaps a little too meandering for a three-and-a-half year old, but Grams sure liked it.

The beautiful water-color-like illustrations show us mid-century Yorkshire in its glory, and maintain the cozy mood (and happy ending) of the story. (4 stars)

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Written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Giraffe and Bird act like they can’t stand each other – and that’s what they say. But deep down, they need and want each other. Some of the situations they get each other into are amusing.

In families with a lot of squabbling, this book would make a valuable point. But Steven couldn’t get it – if you like someone, you treat them well. Really, you try to treat everyone well.

We did get some laughs – when giraffe sneezed because Bird was preening his feathers – and that makes Bird fall upside down. And some days Bird eats extra berries (that contain lots of fiber…)

Anyway, what make this book are the illustrations. Bender has captured facial expression, especially on the giraffe, that are hilarious. (4 stars)

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Written and illustrated by Jon Klassen
Bear has lost his hat and is making his way through the forest asking each of the animals in turn if they have seen it.

This is a delightful book to read to young children. It was fun for me to narrate, as the story is told completely in dialogue. Three-year-old Steven loved back & forth interchanges between the bear and the other animals.

The illustrations are primitive in style and mostly sepia toned, but Steven loved them, identifying the different animals easily and quickly.

For beginning readers, the word choice is basic; for those who are just learning to follow along with the text, the voices of the different animals are in different colored ink.

The story twist, though, that I found so delightful went right over Steven’s head. He didn’t recognize the different speech pattern used by the liar – either the hat thief or the bear’s final declaration.

The book pleased Steven at three & a half and will likely continue to do so for the next year or two as he grows and learns to distinguish truth from lies, and appreciate the unsaid as well as the obviously stated. (4 stars)

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Written by Thomas King and illustrated by Johnny Wales

Every evening, Old Woman and the animals gather at the pond to serenade the moon. They won’t let Coyote join them because they think he has a terrible singing voice. His feelings hurt, Coyote insults the moon, who hears him and decides to go on a vacation.

Without the moon’s light, Old Woman and the animals stumble about in the dark. When all efforts to entice the moon back fail, they ask coyote to join them in one last desperate scheme.

I wasn’t impressed with either the art work or the story in this book, but Steven loved it. After a difficult day, he sat enthralled while I read about the interactions of the forest animals and the moon.

Perhaps he liked the ‘singing’ bits where Grams tried to howl like a coyote (and he joined in). (3½ stars)

Buy Coyote Sings to the Moon at Amazon.com
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