Review by New York Times Review
ON the cover a row of puppies (and puppy pretenders) line up in various stages of adorableness before the White House. Is this picture book about what I think it's about? Yes! Wasting no time, the father-daughter team of Jules and Kate Feiffer latched on to a moment in history that all kids could understand: Barack Obama telling his children from a national stage on Election Day that they could have a puppy. (In April, they got one: a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog they named Bo.) In the Feiffers' vision, puppies from all over the globe are told of the search, and each and every one is eager to have its place in the sun. But how to choose? After the oldest basset hound in Mississippi announces, "We'll hold a contest to find the most presidential puppy in the country," thousands arrive, ready to prove that they're the best. Unfortunately, the results are repeatedly disappointing, until at long last three puppies (or rather two puppies and a guinea pig with ambition) are selected. In the story, the winning dog is revealed offscreen, and though our heroes are not really the winners, they are still privy to a lovely surprise at the end of the book. Jules Feiffer makes fine use of his trademark curls and swirls of the pen, filling the pages to overflowing with a cornucopia of prospective pups. Against a white backdrop the pictures and words tumble over one another like dogs at play. Elizabeth Bird is a children's librarian at the New York Public Library.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 27, 2009]
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Who should become the First Pup in the Obama White House? In this whimsical imagining by the father-daughter team behind Henry the Dog with No Tail, animals across the globe take the matter into their own paws-and not all contenders for the honor are canines. " 'I'd make a fine puppy,' squeaked a guinea pig named Sam. 'I'm starting barking lessons tomorrow,' bragged a turtle named Marple." When a contest and a lottery fail to determine a suitable winner, an older dog quotes from an ancient dictate outlining the qualifications for "a true presidential puppy." Two pooches and the guinea pig fit the bill and head to Washington, only to discover that the First Family already has a puppy (cleverly pictured only as an indistinct blur, which may help extend this story's shelf life). In an upbeat resolution, the trio of would-be pets is invited to stay and play with the White House's new four-legged resident. Rendered in brush, ink and watercolor markers, Jules Feiffer's characteristically fluid, unadorned illustrations produce an animated animal cast, easily matching the narrative's buoyancy. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-Ever since President Obama announced that his daughters would have a puppy, the world began speculating about what kind of dog would come to the White House. Here, the Feiffers put their own comical spin on the situation as Jules amusingly expands Kate's whimsical, heartwarming tale with loose, fluid black lines embellished with scruffy warm colors. As the story plays out, it isn't only humans who are interested in the First Puppy to be. Animals everywhere begin vying for the role. One making a pitch is Sam, the guinea pig who thinks he would make a very pleasing puppy. The greatest contest occurs in the canine kingdom, where eventually a roly-poly dog settles the brouhaha with the proclamation that "ancient custom dictates that a true presidential puppy must have two rings around one paw, a heart on its face, an eye that winks, and a tail that tells time." Finally, an old Basset hound from Mississippi declares that "the girls will get three pets instead of one." Off to Washington, the trio arrives at the White House, where the Feiffers concoct just the right welcome for the threesome and a highly satisfying and perfect ending to a captivating story.-Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA (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
After the newly elected president makes his post-campaign promise to his daughters ("you have earned the new puppy"), the news travels around the animal community. Guinea pigs, kittens--everyone wants to be chosen ("I'll pretend to be a puppy"), and wise Basset Hound hosts a contest. The story can be confusing, but the animals' exuberance comes through in the sketchlike illustrations. (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
Opening with thenPresident-Elect Obama's acceptance-speech promise to his daughters that they "have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House," Feiffers daughter and father present a look at the behind-the-scenes shenanigans as all sorts of canine (and feline and rodent and reptilian) candidates vie for the position. Setting himself up as judge, the "oldest Basset hound in Mississippi" devises a series of inconclusive tests and exposes a cheating mastiff before a large bulldog declares that "ancient custom dictates that a true presidential puppy must have two rings around one paw, a heart on its face, an eye that winks, and a tail that tells time." This hugely arbitrary anticlimax leads to two puppies and one guinea pig, who, combined, display all the bulldog's listed attributes, venturing to the White Housejust in time for another anticlimax: Sasha and Malia already have a puppy, presumably the only one who didn't try out. But they all play happily ever after. Except for one fabulous image of the Basset in mid-howl, this is forgettable. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
