Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-8. When children are "kissed and tucked and sleeping for the night," Irving Dog and Ermine Cat become the team of Daring Dog and Captain Cat who "save the day or save the night like human heroes in the story books our children read." In his "shaped speech" writing style--the text is laid out like a poem, and words are run together or broken apart for dramatic effect--Adoff's tale about nighttime feats of high adventure and derring-do is told with flourish and flair that demand a robust read-aloud recitation. Featuring a generous number of double spreads that show wide-screen shots of the action, Cepeda's vibrantly colored oil paintings amplify the punch of Adoff's words and resonate with the verve that is to be expected from the illustrator of Nappy Hair (1997) and What a Truly Cool World (1999). A delightful domestic swashbuckler. --Annie Ayres
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Free verse, frozen into solid blocks of text, enriches this story of double lives. By day, a docile blue dog is called Irving, and a calm brown cat answers to Ermine. "Our Children Give Us Those Names," the animals announce in tandem. "But We Do Not Have Those Names/ Inside/ Our/ Dog/ And/ Cat/ Heads." After their masters go to bed, they become the swashbuckling Daring Dog and Captain Cat, caroming about the house: "We Move So Fast/ We Flash/ .../ Like Human/ Heroes In/ The Story/ Books Our/ Children/ Read." Cepeda (Mice and Beans, reviewed Sept. 17) pictures the protagonists in billowing capes and plumed hats, brandishing swords and toppling furniture in pursuit of "Rat/ Faced/ Crooks." In layered oil paintings, he spackles ochre, foam green and pale violet on a shadowy undercoating of chocolate, evergreen and midnight blue. Adoff (Touch the Poem) alters reading speed and comprehension by capitalizing every word, varying the leading between letters and arranging words in eccentric groups. His synchronized narrators don't use language the way people do, although they "Always/ Come/ With/ Out/ Fail" when hailed as Irving and Ermine. Youngsters will appreciate the covert proceedings: while the images tell a breezy tale of carousing, the experimental poetry implies that ordinary pets harbor hidden personas. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-"Irving Dog" and "Ermine Cat" do not have those names inside their "Dog/And/Cat/Heads." They love the children of the house, who are oblivious to their pets' late-night antics, when they become "Daring Dog" and "Captain Cat," who "Can/Ride To/Right A Wrong Or/Wrong A Right/Can/Save The Day/Or/Save The Night-." Adoff's free verse dashes and leaps across the page and tongue, much like animals chasing shadows through a house at night. Cepeda's full-spread oil illustrations in vibrant colors picture the pair in swashbuckling outfits, chasing a mouse through the kitchen, knocking over a lamp, and falling exhausted on the floor. Their children find them, never suspecting that they've been protected all night by this dynamic duo. Readers will be drawn in by the illustrations and the dramatic, comic-booklike cover. If they are unfamiliar with poetry, they may find it hard to get involved with Adoff's text, which needs to be read aloud, and which is mostly description and little plot. The pace is quick but intricate, not at all like the traditional picture-book story line readers might expect. Persistent readers will be satisfied, however, and may find themselves wondering what their own pets get up to when the lights go out. A good choice for storytime or for Dav Pilkey or James Marshall fans who are willing to try something slightly different.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Irving the dog and Ermine the cat play traditional pet roles during the day, but at night they transform themselves into sword-wielding, crook-catching Daring Dog and Captain Cat. AdoffÆs shaped speech is well suited to a tale that is both vigorous and dreamlike. The flattened perspective of the textured oil illustrations captures the mysterious nighttime atmosphere as well as the antics of the heroes. From HORN BOOK Spring 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The idea that household pets lead more exciting lives at night than we might imagine, a popular picture book premise, gets a stylish-maybe too stylish-workout here. By day, Irving Dog and Ermine Cat come when called, meekly submit to being leashed, and eat from dishes. But "Our Children Give Us Those Names / But We Do Not Have Those Names / I n s i d e / Our / Dog / And / Cat / H e a d s." When the lights go out, the two transform into plumed, swashbuckling rivals/allies, battling happily about the kitchen, chasing a (masked, caped) rat through the living room until they break a lamp, then sacking out to "Catch A / B r e a t h / And / Pass / A / Flea / Or / Two" until morning. Adoff's shaped lines crank up the verbal intensity, but sometimes impose an artificial rhythm, and because every word is capitalized and heavily boldfaced, that intensity soon grows monotonous. Furthermore, in Cepeda's roughly finished oils, Cat and Dog don't seem to enjoy their daytime roles much, which may lead young viewers to wonder why they bother to hide their inner selves at all. Still, this will resonate with thoughtful readers who understand that, when Adoff writes of dreams and secret identities, he's not just referring to pets. (Picture book. 6-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
