by Andrea Zuill
Humor – Picture Book
My Synopsis:
Homer the dog gets an invitation to go to Wolf Camp for a week and he absolutely MUST go!
Why I Picked This Book:
I was watching Julie Hedlund‘s mini-lessons that she was offering to 12×12 members. (I highly recommend all of her lessons if you’re new to writing picture books.) She talked about this book briefly while teaching, and I quickly wrote it down knowing it was one I had to own.
What Was Disappointing:
Absolutely nothing. Which is saying a lot since my expectations were pretty high.
Why I Kept Reading:
Ok so maybe this format I use for book reviews doesn’t really fit for Picture Books. But there are picture books that although I finish, it’s only because I know the end is near, not necessarily because I’m intrigued and need to find out what happens. With this book, I was simply enjoying every page, every page turn, every image, and every word.
Take Away:
This book is certainly a great example of humourous Picture Books, but even more. It has fantastic scene changes, great page turns, and super fun illustrations. The reason Julie used it as an example was to discuss character changes and arcs. The goal of wanting to be a wolf and how he feels about being a wolf at the end are just fantastic.
Final Thoughts:
As a dog trainer and groomer some dog stories make me cringe. I don’t see the humor in most dog books because I tend to take things too seriously. I see issues with some dog behavior and worry owners will think it’s acceptable or even cute. I know picture books are harmless but being submerged in dog behavior and how they learn, I cannot help how I feel. This book however is perfection. I won’t dive into my theories of dogs being dogs or the methodology of the team I work with, but I will say this book could almost be an advertisement for one of our programs: Farm Dog. So kudos to Andrea Zuill for making me laugh and smile and fall in love with this book. If I’ve reread it as many times as I have, kids will certainly enjoy this one over and over again.
Post-Script:
I hope Pixie and Rex stay in touch with Homer.
INGRID E FABER 