Synopsis
Once there was a dog who loved to run and jump and play. She was the best friend Ben — or any little boy — could have. But as Ben got older, so did his dog. One morning, Ben's old dog didn't open her eyes or wag her tail. She didn't even move.
Charlotte Zolotow's remarkable insight into a universal experience — the hurt and confusion a child feels after his first encounter with death — is poignantly echoed by James Ransome's striking oil paintings.
School Library Journal
K-Gr 2In this newly illustrated edition of a 1972 title (Coward, o.p.), a young boy's old dog dies one morning. The day passes slowly and sadly as the child comes to understand the loneliness created by such a loss. At the height of his grief, the mood quickly changes to joy as his father brings home a new puppy to love. The large, bold type and simple vocabulary and sentence structure make the book ideal for beginning readers. The text captures the boy's pain, despite the flaw of an easy (albeit happy) final solution. Dense oil paintings rendered in fall colors of orange, brown, and green use many closeups to keep the book's focus on emotions. Ransome is masterful at showing the African American child's feelings, and his richly hued illustrations capture the intensity of his grief. The borders of fall leaves are lovely, if a bit cliched, but all in all, this is a worthy purchase.Martha Topol, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, MI