Review by New York Times Review
LOOKING at different picture books can feel like taking different kinds of walks in the wood. As you turn the pages the pictures influence the pace at which you read and the attention you give to the images. Some books may feel like being in a forest with tree branches beckoning forward, encouraging you to move at a steady pace down the path. (William Steig is the master of this kind of book, his drawings, easy-going and efficient, so inextricably linked to his words that they lead effortlessly to the conclusion.) Another kind of book may feel more like a great allée of oaks where you are inclined to stop and admire the whorls and indentations of particular trees. In yet another, the experience is more akin to walking through an arboretum, where every turn brings you face to face with an exciting new specimen of bush or flower. Each of the books considered here is about an animal on a journey, but they are illustrated in strongly contrasting styles, and in their approaches they exemplify my three kinds of "walks in the wood." "Herbert," written and illustrated by Robyn Belton, is the true story of a little dog who falls off a boat in frigid New Zealand waters and who miraculously survives for more than 30 hours until he is rescued. Belton wisely uses sketchy yet realistic drawings to move us through the story to reach its dramatic and heartwarming conclusion. The effect of the art is filmic, in that one image points forward to the next, and also emotional. For all the art's looseness, it manages to capture tender details. A drawing of the boy in the story, for example, subtly suggests his anxiety as he watches his father's boat leave the pier with Herbert, his dog, on board. In "Sally's Great Balloon Adventure," Sally can't believe her eyes, and Belle attends a party in "A Giraffe Goes to Paris." Later in the story, an image of the little dog struggling through the huge waves of a storm, described with a few lines and the black dot of a nose emerging from big watercolor washes, conveys his desperate plight. This is a true adventure yarn that is well matched to its straight-ahead illustrations. "I knew you were alive!," from "Herbert." "Sally's Great Balloon Adventure," written and illustrated by Stephen Huneck, has pictures that are as solid and rooted to the page as the wooden blocks from which the artist printed the images. The powerfully simplified and colorful woodcuts tell the story of Sally, the black Lab, following her nose to a picnic lunch sitting in the basket of a hot-air balloon. Whoops! The balloon takes off, and after an anxious ride observed by people on the ground, Sally is saved by responding to shouts of "Tug of war, tug of war!" - she gives a rope a hard pull and, happily, her prompt action gets the balloon back on the ground. The simple story seems almost an excuse for Huneck, who died this year at 61, to give his fans more charming pictures to pore over one by one. The Labrador whose noble profile you have loved in earlier picture books, like Huneck's first, "Sally Goes to the Beach," is now starring in a gripping balloon adventure. She survives the ride, and as tempting as the smell of the chicken is - good dog - she never touches that picnic basket! "A Giraffe Goes to Paris," by Mary Tavener Holmes and John Harris, illustrated by Jon Cannell, is the true story of the exotic present of a giraffe, given by the pasha of Egypt to Charles X of France in 1827. The book brings to life the many complications of getting the animal from Egypt to Paris. The giraffe's escorts take along cows to provide the giraffe with milk, and two antelopes as well, as companions. Then comes a big problem on board the ship to France: "Belle wasn't going to fit!" It's too dangerous for her on deck, but she won't fit below. The Italian captain comes up with an idea: "He cut a hole in the deck, so Belle's long, graceful neck could poke out." (He also gives her an umbrella, to protect her from sun and rain.) The story takes us on the triumphant tour through France to Paris, with many astounded citizens along the way. With so much historical detail to work with, Cannell matches its complexity with a mélange of stylishly naive drawings, reproductions of 19th-century paintings and maps, and photographs of objects and sculpture. The effect is graphically hip with a lot of information to stop and consider, a veritable arboretum of images, but at some cost to the story's continuity. To give the events a connecting thread, the authors have invented a character, Atir, who looks after Belle and tells the story, but Atir's voice gets a bit lost in the cacophony of the jazzy graphics. This is very much a visual book, however, and a patient, historically minded young reader should find it a satisfying adventure. Jim McMullan's most recent book with his wife, Kate, is "I'm Bad!" Their book "I'm Big!" will be published this fall.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 2, 2010]
Review by Booklist Review
In this simple, true story, a small dog named Herbert is lost at sea in New Zealand's French Pass. Tim, the boy who owns Herbert, convinces his dad and a local fisherman to mount a search for his beloved pet. As they set out, he declares, This will be the worst or the best day of my life. Fortunately, Tim's faithful love for Herbert is rewarded with a happy reunion. Belton's beautiful watercolor illustrations bring to life the dangerously changeable weather at sea without making it too scary. Reproductions of newspaper articles and letters about the incident, as well as Herbert's Iron Dog medal, appear on the endpapers. These real-life documents give readers a fascinating taste of the true story behind the book and provide a nice balance to Belton's dreamy illustrations. The tale holds a special appeal for animal lovers, but anyone can relate to its themes of love, hope, and courage.--Aronin, Miriam Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-Tim's dog Herbert was well loved by the people in Nelson, New Zealand. After he was washed overboard during a storm at sea, Tim insisted on searching for him even when all of the adults lost hope. Miraculously, the animal withstood the rages of the open water for 30 hours. He was rescued by Tim and his fisherman friends and was awarded the "Iron Dog Award" for bravery. This book is beautiful from cover to cover. Endpapers are a scrapbook of maps, photographs, letters, and newspaper articles related to this event, and loose pencil and watercolor illustrations, reminiscent of the work of Robert McCloskey, evoke a gentle time and place. That the story is true makes it inspirational, and the simple telling makes it ideal for reading aloud or one-on-one, over and over.-Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC (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
This picture book tells the against-all-odds story of a dog lost at sea off the coast of New Zealand in 1986. Watercolor illustrations in seaside shades of greens, grays, and blues and sketchily outlined in pencil accompany the accessible text, which conveys first sadness then exhilaration as the story unfolds. Endpaper photographs, letters, and news articles bring the story to life. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
