Review by Booklist Review
PreS-K. Most kid-wants-dog tales involve at least one antipet parent; in this version, adults are left out of the picture entirely. In fact, the author-illustrator of Flyaway Katie BKL Je 1 & 15 04 leaves most things out of the picture, at least compositionally: there are never more than two or three elements set against the pastel-washed backgrounds. The story line is correspondingly simple. Bertie is a tousled little boy who wishes for a dog in his favorite color (blue). No such luck, so Bertie pretends to be a blue dog instead, cheerfully scampering about on all fours--until a spotted pup arrives on the scene, not blue but perfect all the same. Dunbar makes clever use of page turns, unfolding the story in pithy, alliterative prose: Blue really loves Bertie. Bertie really loves Blue. In the end, the wish fulfillment is gratifying, but it's Bertie's ingenious self-sufficiency that truly resonates. --Jennifer Mattson Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Dunbar's (Flyaway Katie) impressive second offering, a child imagines the dog of his dreams, and when the real thing comes along, amends his wish to achieve happiness. Bertie loves blue. "He had a blue sweater, a blue dog collar, blue shoes, but no blue dog." With a soft pencil and pastel watercolor washes, Dunbar creates spot illustrations that bring to mind Sendak's early work. Bertie sports a comfy-looking blue turtleneck and blue shoes, and nearly dances across the pale yellow spreads as he throws a stick "for his pretend blue dog," then fetches it himself. When Bertie finds a little spotted dog, "all alone and looking for an owner," he rejoices. Dunbar shifts the background to a pale blue that seems to envelop boy and dog. The spots on the pooch resonate with the simple dot eyes an o-shaped mouth of the lad until they seem part of a whole. Bertie lifts the dog high in the air, then falters. The dog isn't blue. But when Bertie turns his back, Dunbar depicts both boy and dog as bereft. Bertie soon solves the problem, though: he names the dog Blue. Charmingly, in their unusually equitable relationship, Bertie does as many tricks as his dog does. "Blue really loves Bertie," Dunbar concludes. "Bertie really loves Blue. Especially when... it's Bertie's turn to fetch!" Readers will enjoy watching Bertie resolve the fulfillment of his fantasy, thanks to Dunbar's polished artwork and skilled pacing. Ages 2-5. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Bertie wants a blue dog, so he pretends that he has one. He throws a stick, but as pretend dogs don't fetch, he goes after it himself. When a tiny black-and-white, spotted dog suddenly appears on the scene, he is perfect except for his coloring. So Bertie decides to give him something blue-the name "Blue." The two are a perfect pair, except that Bertie still fetches his own sticks. The pencil-and-watercolor cartoon drawings are simple enough to appeal to preschoolers, but the monochromatic colors (pale blue and yellow) are not especially eye-catching. With limited audience appeal, this is a supplemental purchase at best.-Janet M. Bair, Trumbull Library, CT (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
(Preschool) Winsome Bertie (whose expressively active form recalls the simply drafted children in very early Sendak ) loves blue. Everything he has is blue, including the empty dog collar featured in his happy play with the ""pretend blue dog"" that he walks, feeds, and pats; but since ""pretend dogs don't fetch sticks...Bertie fetched the stick himself."" Thus the little boy is content until the day his ""Yap!"" on his pretend dog's behalf is answered by a real dog -- a tiny, white, black-spotted dog -- perfect, in fact, but not blue. No problem: Bertie gives the dog something blue -- a name -- and soon Bertie and Blue are playing all Bertie's favorite games, with the difference that he ""doesn't need to pretend anymore."" The point that make-believe can be satisfying even though a longed-for reality may turn out to be even better is gently made. Blue and Bertie are charmers, to be welcomed in laps and preschool hours alike. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Dunbar gives the tried-and-true Boy Meets Dog story an engaging twist or two. Bertie's wish for a dog--specifically a blue dog, since that's his favorite color--translates into pretending to be one himself, before finally coming true. The frisky, four-legged soulmate with whom he hooks up, however, is white with black spots: nearly a reject, until Bertie finds an ingenious solution (think name). Dunbar suspends Bertie, who sometimes looks like an early Sendak child, against blank, pale-tinted backgrounds, using a blue that's just this side of gray for color highlights; the effect is an informal but elegant simplicity reminiscent of the look in Jules Feiffer's Bark, George (1999). Young Bertie's joy comes through loud and clear, and children will laugh to see him, in a closing bit of role reversal, dashing off on all fours to "fetch" a stick while (did you guess?) little Blue looks on. (Picture book. 5-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
