Synopsis
Preston and his wife, Ruth, own Ellington Lodge. Preston is a checkers-playing fiend and is known around the neighborhood as the greatest checkers player in the world. When a small dog named Marley shows up at Ellington Lodge, Preston at first thinks he’s harmless, and Ruth is delighted because Marley helps out with chores that Preston has no time for, due to his checkers games. Ever-helpful Marley soon seems to cast a spell over everyone at the lodge with his cooking talent, amazing storytelling, speed painting, and magic tricks.
When Marley beats Preston in checkers, ending his 992-game winning streak, it’s a bit too much for Preston to take, and he wants the canine wonder gone. Will Preston be able to turn the folks of Ellington Lodge against the little dog?
Tim Egan is the author and illustrator of several offbeat and humorous tales for children. He is consistently recognized for his individuality and delightful illustrations. Born in New Jersey, Tim moved to California to attend the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He still lives in southern California with his wife, Ann, and their two sons. To learn more about Tim Egan, visit his Web site at www.timegan.com. For a complete list of books by Tim Egan, visit www.houghton mifflinbooks.com.
Publishers Weekly
Egan specializes in quirky towns and dignified, faintly distrustful animal characters. His latest wry tale begins in Ellington Lodge, a general store with golden-brown woodwork, quaint posters advertising fresh produce and bountiful countertops stocked with jars. Ellington Lodge's proprietor, a bear named Preston, is enjoying a yearlong winning streak at checkers. He hunches over a checkerboard, observed by a leisurely pig, elk and cow all neatly dressed in the hats and jackets of country gentlemen. "As Preston beat[s] Eleanor Dorsey in game nine hundred and fifty-six," a stranger enters the shop and offers to do some chores that Preston has neglected. The talented newcomer, a squat brown dog wearing a gray top hat, burgundy-red duster and powder-blue cape, whips up breakfast and teaches everyone how to say "hello" in 10 different languages. He also trounces the bear at his game, thus disrupting Preston's routine and provoking the insular townsfolk. Egan's matter-of-fact narration unwinds at an unhurried pace, and his deliberate lines and mellow watercolor palette likewise suggest stasis. It's no wonder the eccentric visitor (who rides a unicycle and carries a walking stick with a certain hauteur) first poses a threat, then turns out to be "just a small dog with an attitude." This understated tale, with its aura of mystery and its subtle mockery of prejudices, recalls past Egan successes such as Metropolitan Cow and Chestnut Cove. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.