Product Description

The city dog runs, sniffs, and explores the unfamiliar countryside for the first time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1265431 in Books
• Published on: 1998-03-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
A shaggy, energetic pooch, accustomed to sidewalk outings, is thrilled by her first encounter with the countryside. "The capering canine['s] joy is infectious," said PW. Ages 5-8.
- joy is infectious," said PW. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-A noted poet takes young readers along on a city dog's first trip to the country. The animal barely knows what to do with her freedom-she walks, she barks, she runs with abandon. She looks for familiar places-the sidewalk corners "where city dogs mingle and meet," but there are no boundaries for her here-"nothing but countryside rolling around." Kuskin's watercolor-and-ink drawings are childlike and simple. The soft pastel colors, with deeper shadings, add visual impact to the lines. Short portions of the lilting text are set in or beneath each of the illustrations, and are easily visible through the use of large type. Wide white space frames each picture; the sweeping double pages capture the countryside's vastness. The poem's uninterrupted text appears on the final page. Replete with the imagery one has come to expect from Kuskin, this story in verse is a treat.
Mary Lou Budd, Milford South Elementary School, OH
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 4-7. The phrase "It's a dog's life" gets a reverse meaning in this happy romp. A more contented pooch never graced the pages of a picture book than this pup, who enthusiastically drags her tangled leash and poky owners to the car as they set out on a trip to the seashore. Unleashed, city dog revels in its freedom, only vaguely curious about the absence of buildings. Every new sight is amazing: "Soft grass, warm ground, rabbit holes to paw and nose, fast bikes, bare toes. Blue waves, crabs, crows." The reader is visually drawn into the action by the strong horizontal line of the strained red leash, which stretches across the preliminary pages. Once the city is left behind and the leash is unfastened, cool green hills and blue sea and sky provide both soothing backdrop and comical contrast to the dog's energetic antics. In two particularly effective scenes, city dog is, in true doggy fashion, literally everywhere at once. The mixed-meter, rhymed verse is a joy to read aloud and strong enough to stand on its own without illustration. The complete running text of the poem is appended. Elizabeth Bush