Product Description

Bubba, a brand-new Texas baby, and Beau, a brand-new Texas puppy, are best friends with a nose for adventure. They have lots in common, including a mutual respect for . . . mud and a mutual disdain for . . . soap. So, when Mama Pearl decides to give them--and their favorite blankie--a bath, it's a sad, sad day in Bubbaville.
This is just the beginning of a playful new series starring these irresistible youngsters--and their many outrageous antics. Ar-ar-aroooooo!!!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #979696 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
When baby Bubba is born, his father, Big Bubba, "revved up Earl, his trusty pickup truck, and honked the horn as loud as he could." Likewise, when puppy Beau arrives, bloodhound Maurice "threw his head back and began to bay." The proud human and canine poppas are shown howling together in the bed of the pickup. Following this celebration, Bubba and Beau become inseparable. In brief chapters, the buddies crawl in the mud, inhale the "smelly smell" of their shared blanket and seem stunned after Bubba's Mama Pearl gives them a soapy scrubbing. "Sister, those two got along," writes Appelt (Elephants Aloft), warmly conveying the twosome's attachment. Howard (Hoodwinked), who sketches in a loose charcoal line and transparent watercolor, shows the characters sticking together; a curious Beau watches Bubba and vice versa during the bath sequence. Howard alludes to a Texas setting by placing a state flag on Earl's antenna and longhorns on the hood plus picturing Big Bubba in a ranch shirt, with a belly that overlaps his belt buckle. All the hounds wear bandannas, and Mama Pearl looks comfy in scuffed cowboy boots and a housedress when she hangs out the wash. Appelt's fond voice and Howard's good-humored drawings combine to suggest an easygoing, distinctly Texan family life. Ages 2-5.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-This five-chapter picture book introduces Bubba, a baby boy; his parents; and Beau, their puppy. The author highlights the youngsters' similarities: they're both keen on chewing, neither one is house-trained, and they both disdain soap. It turns out that Bubba has "the best blankie." He and Beau play with it and especially like its smell-until Mama Pearl gives it a wash. "Its cottony-soft turned soggy. Its snappity-snap turned flat." And, worse yet, it smells like soap. Still "in a washing mood," Mama scoops up both the child and the pup to bathe them. Both are shell-shocked until she gives them back the blanket, "pinky-pink" and "toasty-warm." "Best of all, it smelled just like Bubba and Beau-best friends!" This book is a delight. The text is breezy, clever, and concrete. It expands on the emotional turmoil surrounding washing day by creating two characters that thrive not just because of their connection to a favorite possession, but because of the love they have for one another. Howard's loose, jaunty cartoon illustrations capture the heart of the text to a tee. And while the Texas drawl sets a humorous tone, the pictures expand on the fun through the facial expressions and body positioning of the protagonists. With a seamless partnership between text and art, this book is right on.
Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 2-5. Bubba is a blond, blue-eyed baby boy, born into a loving family and wrapped in "his soft pink blankie." Beau is a "perfect little hound-puppy" also born into a loving family. They live together-- growing, chewing, playing. But it's a "sad day in Bubbaville" when the lovely, smelly blanket goes into the washing machine and comes out smelling of soap. As the blankie hangs drying on the line, Mama Pearl takes the opportunity to bathe both Bubba and Beau (while she is in the "cleaning mood"). In the end, Bubba and Beau are reunited with their blanket, and though clean, they nap peacefully. With quiet brilliance, this picture book in five chapters enters the cocoon of a child's private world. Howard, the illustrator of Cynthia Rylant's Mr. Putter and Tabby series, provides watercolor illustrations that are familiar and comforting, and Appelt's Texan lilt brings a burst of energy to the storytelling. Future titles in this new series will be welcomed. Kathy Broderick
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Bubba & Beau May Become Your Child's New Best Friends
Appelt's funny and charming tale of the almost simultaneous birth and budding friendship between a boy named Bubba and a puppy named Beau is heartwarming and enchanting. With no apparent idea that they are different species, these naïve babies" bond over their shared first traumas - i.e., the laundering of their beloved "blankie" and their own first baths. Howard's simple charcoal and watercolor renderings of Bubba and Beau could capture the heart of the most hardened soul. Their eyes, expressions, and movements are all enchanting. Howard's equally charming and amusing renderings of the human and dog parents and the Texas ranch where the story takes place provide the "icing on the cake." The result is a book that oozes with life, warmth, security, friendship, and love. Child judges awarded it the 2002 Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature. To accommodate short attention spans, Appelt has even broken the story up into five well-defined chapters. Readers wanting more of Bubba and Beau will not be disappointed - there are already two sequels, Bubba and Beau Go Night Night and Bubba and Beau Meet the Relatives. Highly recommended for ages 18 months to 4 years.

A very good bedtime book for your 3 year old
Here are my thoughts about this children's book:

1. Characterization: I think children can really relate the characters in this story. This is crucial because any story where the characters are out of touch--is displeasing for a little child.
2. Sequence of events - the flow of this story is actually very good. The writer spent time breaking down the story into 3 segments.
3. Plot - is ok. It's a very simple story. No major plot here.
4. Suspense - is lacking. Sorry but there is very little suspense in this story.
5. Artwork - I like the artwork. It blends and enhances the story greatly.

Overall I would give this story 4/5. It's a very good bedtime book for your 3 year old.

Cute, down-to-earth, and hilarious!
Trust me, this book is a heck of a lot more entertaining than it appears to be via that old adage about book covers. Still, I must admit those crazy old Southern names and those exressions on the characters drew me into what turned out to be a truly hilarious story that the working class will appreciate--at least the babies and puppies of the working class folk. The prose demands to be read with a western or southern accent and the names are so stereotyped I cracked up. But under the whole stylized theme was an extremely sweet story about the true meaning of friendship. Hilariously written and adorable.