BLACK and WHITE

BLACK and WHITE

By Dahlov Ipcar
Published by Flying Eye Books

 

BLACK and WHITE is the re-published work by Dahlov Ipcar, first published in 1963 by Alfred A. Knopf, featuring fun and frolics of a two dogs (one black and one white). Dahlov Ipcar is an American author and artist, illustrating over 30 children’s books, and timeless stories capturing the hearts of children and adults alike. And at 97, you will find her still painting two hours a day!

The two dogs are good friends that play and stay together all day long. After a day of exploring, they return home and after saying good night they climb into their beds and both dream. The little black dog dreamed a dream of a jungle scene where big elephants ford a stream, black panthers sniff the breeze and zebras and antelopes graze. Butterflies fill the air and birds fly above the tree tops.

The little white dog dreamed a dream of an arctic storm where seals swim to and fro, arctic foxes chase arctic hares, while polar bears stand ashore. Sea birds nest on the rocky shores and big black walrus roars. The two little dogs awake to a bright new day and run outside to race and play before telling the other of their dreams and all of the animals who were white as snow and black as night.

After first reading this book, it brought back memories of my primary school books filled with bright stylised colour illustrations. BLACK and WHITE is filled with stylised illustrations that only use four spot colours (Ipcar was a master of a technique that has now disappeared: four-colour separation, by which each colour is printed separately, and the layers build up’). Dahlov Ipcar truly captures the essence of the jungle and arctic and I love the variety of the animals included. You may feel it has a dated feel but the way Flying Eye Books has presented it gives it a retro feel. Ipcar's illustrations are paired with original verse celebrating the beauty of the living world around us.

There is a lot more to this book than I first realised and in researching Dahlov Ipcar, I came across this interesting article by the Telegraph. This was originally published during the height of the US civil rights movement and BLACK and WHITE was intended to promote equality within the turbulent political landscape of its time. The article is very insightful and explains the painstaking process that Flying Eye Books has gone to meticulously and faithfully restore this book to bring back the quality of the originals. Flying Eye Books will also be reintroducing Ipcar’s wider catalogue; I Like Animals and The Wonderful Egg, are two other titles that are already available.  

BLACK and WHITE is out now to buy in all good bookshops or direct from Flying Eye Books.

Shoe Dog

Shoe Dog

By Megan McDonald and Illustrated by Katherine Tillotson
Published by Simon & Schuster

Shoe Dog liked to chew. And chew and chew. Not a boring old bone. Not a squeaky old toy. Not a smelly old sock. Shoe Dog liked to chew... Well, guess!

This energetic picture book from Megan McDonald and Katherine Tillotson tells the tale of a puppy who has a fondness for eating shoes! Shoe Dog dreams of a new home that's warm as soup and cosy as pie which may just come true when a woman enters the Animal Shelter and spots him, instantly falling in love with him. 

He may well be cute, but is he a good boy? Shoe Dog is a puppy and puppies like to run and generally cause havoc. This is true of children too, it's a way of discovering the world and seeing what the boundaries are - what's right and what's wrong. Unfortunately for Shoe Dog, he has an appetite for shoes of all types - on his first encounter he manages to chew through; five high heels,  four flip-flops, three sneakers, two boots and one wing tip. 

His new owner doesn't have the same enthusiasm as Shoe Dog for ripping shoes apart and so Shoe Dog is punished by not getting petted or having the privilege of getting to sleep on the 'Big Bed'. Unfortunately Shoe Dog doesn't learn his lesson - when his owner returns with boxes that look like they may well contain 'new shoes' he can't help but investigate. He also can't help but chew on the new shoes and again he is punished for his actions. 

So Shoe Dog tries his best to behave - especially if he doesn't want to be sent back to the Dog Shelter. And all is going well until one day, when his owner returns with those shoe shaped boxes, he rushes up to go and sniff them out. But this time he finds the shoe he would never chew and learns to finally control those shoe chewing impulses (and gets to sleep on the 'Big Bed' for being a good boy).

Katherine's illustrations of Shoe Dog capture the liveness of a young puppy with her 'wound up coil spring' scribble for his body and pastel style motion lines show us how this puppy runs amok as he desperately searches for shoes to chew and destroy! I enjoyed this book, especially knowing first hand how dogs will chew almost anything (my family home have always had dogs for pets and I only lost one pair of shoes and learnt my lesson to keep them well hidden). A fab book for dog lovers and teaching children about resisting (and to keep their favourite shoes away from the family dog!).

Shoe Dog is available to buy now from all good bookshops and online from Simon & Schuster.

Oliver & Patch

Oliver & Patch

By Claire Freedman and Illustrated by Kate Hindley
Published by Simon & Schuster

 

 

Oliver & Patch is the second book by duo Claire Freedman and Kate Hindley (they also penned the amazing The Great Snortle Hunt together) and what a lovely, heartwarming story it is. It's about a lonely boy befriending a lost dog but knowing he must do the right thing and help find the dog’s owner and possibly lose his new friend in the process.

Meet Oliver, he has just moved to the big city and misses his life in the country, but especially misses his friends. One morning, Oliver goes out to explore and when wondering where to go next, he spots something bright red, its a dog lead and attached to the end of it is a small, soggy dog all alone. The dog’s collar tag reads Patch.  As no one seems to be looking for Patch, Oliver decides to take Patch with him. They have a fun filled day getting to know each other and for the first time since moving to the city Oliver feels happy!

 

However, that night, Patch gazes longingly out the window and Oliver realises somewhere out there is Patch’s real home. Oliver wakes to an excited Patch and they play lots of different games; Hide and seek, tickle tummy, bury the biscuits and curl up and cuddle (their favourite). But at bedtime Patch is sad again and Oliver knows he has to do the right thing. So the next day Oliver makes some Found Posters (with Patch's help), but secretly hopes that no one will end up seeing them. As the days pass by no one calls, leaving Oliver to believe that Patch could be his dog forever.

 

One morning Oliver and Patch go exploring when suddenly Patch breaks free and runs off. When Oliver catches up, he finds that Patch has found his owner, a little girl called Ruby who is very happy to see her Patch. Oliver becomes very sad, as he knows this could be the last time he sees Patch. He then has an idea and asks Ruby if her and Patch would like to visit one day. Ruby agrees but suggests doing something then and there instead. Oliver then realises he hasn’t lost a friend but has found another one!

 

 

Claire Freedman is the author of the funny Underpants series (I reviewed Monsters Love Underpants a few months back), but with Oliver & Patch, she has created a beautifully told story with an uplifting ending.  The illustrations are well suited and will keep little people amused while the story is long enough to entertain older children. Kate Hindley’s illustrations are bright, colourful with good expressive character design, well suited to the story. If you have read The Great Snortle Hunt, look out for the little references.
 

Children and adults alike will enjoy this lovely story and the sweet message about doing the right thing even if you know it will hurt - Oliver & Patch will definitely tug at your heartstrings. The title is aimed at ages 3+ and is available at all good bookshops and online at the Simon & Schuster store.

This book just ate my dog!

This book just ate my dog!

By Richard Byrne
Published by Oxford University Press

Wanted! Nice reader to show this naughty book who’s boss!

This book just ate my dog! Written and illustrated by Richard Byrne is very funny and young children will love that they are needed to help save the day! The story starts with a little girl called Bella taking a stroll across the page with her dog. But a very odd thing happened, her dog disappeared! The book had eaten it! 

And when Bella’s friend Ben comes to have a look he disappears too! Even when the rescue services come to investigate, they vanish. What on earth is happening? Peril lurks within the centre of this book.

There’s only one thing to do, Bella must go and sort this out herself. So Bella walks to the centre to try and sort this mess out, but…BURP… the book eats Bella too! What a naughty book this is. But all is not lost, a note appears with instructions from Bella on how to help them. 

Readers must turn the book over and shake and SHAKE! Bella, her dog and everyone else all reappear and everything is back to normal, well almost - Phew! This picture book is fun and original with the book itself becoming the villain! I really like the simple concept and the interactive element to it which children will love. Aimed at ages 2+, this will be great for bedtime and any nursery/pre-school setting - especially with getting all the children to get involved in shaking the book.

The illustrations are simple - the background is the same on every page which allows little ones to focus clearly on Bella and others. The text is orange and bold which stands out and works well with the overall aesthetic appearance. An overall fun, witty and original read, but be warned, it might just eat you! This book just ate my dog! is out now in paperback in all good bookshops and on the Oxford University Press website.

Gaston

Gaston

Written by Kelly DiPucchio and Illustrated by Christian Robinson 
Published by Simon & Schuster

 

 

Leaving the winter books behind us, my latest theme is our favourite four legged friends… Dogs! Though truthfully I am more of a cat person but there’s lots of great books out at the moment and with so many I couldn’t help but do a doggy themed week. To kick things off I've got my hands on the delightful Gaston, and if you're anything like me you'll fall for it's charms instantly!

 

Je aime Gaston! Gaston, written by Kelly DiPucchio and illustrated by the talented illustrator Christian Robinson is a story with the message of belonging and family featuring Gaston, a french bulldog puppy (one of my favourites).

We are introduced to Mrs. Poodle and her new puppies - Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Ooh-La-La and Gaston. They were perfectly precious and grew, as puppies do, to the size of teacups except the fourth one who grew to the size of a tea pot. Mrs. Poodle made sure they were taught to be proper poodles; to sip and never slobber, to yip and never yap and to walk with grace and never race. Whatever the lesson, Gaston worked the hardest, practised the longest and smiled the biggest. 

 

Mrs. Poodle was very proud of her puppies and took them to the park for their very first stroll. But there was another little dog family already there, Mrs. Bulldog, and her puppies - Rocky, Ricky, Bruno and Antoinette. But as they sized each other up, the mummy dogs realised there has been a mix up. Gaston and Antoinette are with the wrong families and even they can see the mix up.

 

 

 

They decide to trade places, and though it looks right it doesn’t feel right for poor little Gaston and Antoinette. Antoinette doesn’t like to be proper, precious or pink and Gaston definitely doesn’t like anything brutish or brawny. And they aren’t the only ones having a hard time adjusting.

 

The following day each family raced back to the park and both Mrs. Bulldog and Mrs. Poodle agreed that they had made a terrible mistake! Gaston and Antoinette waste no time in swapping places and it both looked right and felt right for everyone.

 

I love Christian Robinson’s illustrations; his textured paint spreads are bright and colourful, and his simplistic characters, which are very cute, make this a lovely book. I like the repeated bold text for the names and sounds which is great for identifying sounds and names to older children and works well with the illustrations. The story is sweet and has a lovely message that family is about love and not appearances. 

 

I really like this book - I like the French theme, the adorable dogs and the sweet and moving story. I even bought this for a friend for a Christmas present who also likes French Bulldogs (hopefully it will convince her boyfriend that a French Bulldog is the perfect pet). Gaston is aimed at 4-8 years but adults will adore this just as much as any little dog lovers. Gaston is currently only available online (import from the United States) but will soon be coming to UK stores and will be a huge hit! For more information visit S&S website here.