OLD DOG BABY BABY by Julie Fogliano and Chris Raschka, ill., Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, October 2016, 32p., ISBN: 978-1-59643-853-8
“When you find yourself in the thick of it
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you”
--Paul McCartney, from “Martha My Dear” The title was inspired by the sheepdog named Martha that McCartney adopted in 1965.
“baby poke
baby squeeze
old dog paws
and old dog knees
baby peeks
baby spies
in old dog ears
and old dog eyes
old dog
baby baby
rolling on the
kitchen floor”
When it came to man’s best friend, my parents blew it. They didn’t get us a dog until I was nine, and it was not a friendly dog. In contrast, I did better with my kids. As toddlers, they shared the house and the kitchen floor with a goofy and mellow retriever who’d wag her tail and clean their faces.
For those of you who’ve enjoyed watching the interaction between a rambunctious toddler and a patient old dog, and those with cherished memories of a dog from your own rugrat days, you will be moved by OLD DOG BABY BABY.
The old dog is asleep on the kitchen floor. The mother and sister are sitting at the table and looking at an album in which the old dog appears in the family photos. Into this scene the baby comes crawling. He heads over to amuse himself by visiting his beloved canine buddy on the kitchen floor.
There are a couple of spreads in which Chris Raschka succeeds in portraying twenty shades of pure bliss in the baby’s expression. And, despite the baby’s subsequent roughhousing, there is attentiveness, devotion, and gushing happiness conveyed through the the eyes and expressions of the old dog.
The two friends eventually trade off yawns, rest their heads on each other and take a nap.
Fogliano’s poetry and Raschka’s watercolor depictions of the baby and his beloved dog complement one another, making OLD DOG BABY BABY a lively and deeply satisfying reading and read-aloud experience.
Richie Partington, MLIS
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