How to Draw Dogs

School Library Journal

Gr 2-5-The first page of each spread gives information about the breed of cat or dog under consideration, along with a full-color photo. The facing page shows the techniques for drawing it, beginning with basic shapes drawn in black ink. Succeeding steps are numbered, and new details are added in red ink. Captions explain the refinements made to the figure. Cats presents the Egyptian goddess Bastet, Morris the Cat, the saber-toothed cat, Sphynx, Siamese cat, Manx, kitten, and black cat. Dogs includes the gray wolf, golden retriever, dalmatian, Chihuahua, boxer, beagle, basenji, and saluki. The techniques introduced are typical of those found in the popular books by Lee J. Ames, such as Draw 50 Cats (Doubleday, 1986). However, Murawski focuses on the animals' bodies, while Ames also concentrates on their faces. The historical information and photo of each breed make these newer books interesting, but many of the breeds introduced are too exotic to appeal to the majority of the children who want to draw their own pets. Good additions where drawing books are popular and where information on more unusual animals is requested.-Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.