Dogs

School Library Journal

Gr 1-6-- Each small volume contains 14 or 15 short poems by a variety of authors such as Rudyard Kipling, Eleanor Farjeon, Rachel Field, Ogden Nash, and James Whitcomb Riley. The ``classic'' aspect of the collections is further emphasized by the illustrations. Dating mostly from the 1880s through the 1930s, each picture is well chosen to correspond to the subject and tone of the adjacent poem. Some of the depictions of animals, such as George Stubbs's horses, are magnificent. However, the preponderance of fair-skinned, flaxen-haired children grows wearisome and seems designed to lure purchasers seeking a dose of nostalgia. The uniformly upbeat tone of the selections reinforces that impression. A wider range of experience, style, and emotions is present in Dog Poems (Holiday, 1990), selected by Myra Cohn Livingston and in A Dog's Life (HBJ, 1983; o.p.), compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Horse lovers would be better served by Hubbell's A Grass Green Gallop (Atheneum, 1990). --Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN