Walk the Dog

February 28, 2000
The author of Dem Bones and Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! collects dogs, dogs, dogs in this compendium for beginning readers. A rhythmic text presents verbs associated with canine conduct: "Walk the dog, walk the dog/ Run, run..../ Walk the dog, walk the dog/ Sniff, sniff...." Collages, assembled from hand-painted paper and complemented by a chunky typeface, depict and name breeds from Airedale to Zwergpinscher. An alphabetical index provides further information, including brief descriptions of the Dachshund, the humble Mutt and the exotic Xoloitzcuintli (pronounced "show-low-eets-QUEEN-tlee"): "This Mexican dog has almost no hair. Because of its soft warm skin, it was used to warm beds in ancient times." Barner's descriptions rely on a foreknowledge of the breeds' specifics, yet he creates his images in an imprecise medium; Vladimir Radunsky's oversize cut-outs come to mind. In one spread, bulky paper shapes represent a wriggling Jack Russell Terrier, a Lhasa Apso wearing yellow bows and a towering white Komondor frolicking on a golf-course-green lawn. The dogs' relative size and general appearance are left to the imagination. On the other hand, this rudimentary catalogue could provide a recognition game for an afternoon at the park, where a Pug, an Old English Sheepdog or a Rottweiler is bound to come along sooner or later. Ages 4-8.

July 1, 2000
PreS-This title is redundant and uninteresting. Each spread begins with "Walk the dog, walk the dog"-and ends with two repetitive words such as "lick, lick" or "jump, jump." The large pictures of 26 dogs in alphabetical order are colorful and lively enough, but there isn't enough story to hold children's interest. Kathy Darling's ABC Dogs (Walker, 1997) uses photos of canines and large letters to present the same concepts. Walk the Dog doesn't work as an alphabet book as the initial letters are never shown, and the pictures of the animals aren't true enough to their species to be useful for identification.-Janet M. Bair, Trumbull Library, CT

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