Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* This picture book could serve as exhibit A for how to take a basic story idea and make it delightfully distinctive. With alarm clocks beeping and buzzing everywhere, Spider, Elephant, Moose, and Giraffe prepare to head off to their jobs as window washer, independent bookseller, sign painter, and firefighter, respectively. Bulldog, who loves to cook, is unemployed, so after making a fresh batch of cookies, he optimistically sets off to find work. After a series of very short (and disastrous) apprenticeships with each of the other animals, he realizes how much he enjoys his own special talent and opens a bakery in his doghouse, and soon his neighbors are lining up to enjoy a quadruple-quintuple batch of bulldog cookies. Each oversize, double-page spread is formatted as a mini chapter, with lines of dialogue and expository text accompanied by a series of small images that tell their own stories. Similar in effect to Richard Scarry's artwork, the colorful pen-and-ink illustrations are filled with clear and creative details, such as painter Moose's palettelike antlers, and as with Scarry's books, children will want to return again and again to find new things on each page. In a difficult economic climate, a tale about a job search is especially relatable for many families. At any time, though, and for any age, a story about following one's bliss is essential.--Medlar, Andrew Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a world where everyone else's day is defined by the exciting "hustle-bustle" of work, diminutive, unemployed Bulldog is odd pooch out. Apprenticeships with his pals Spider the window washer, Moose the sign painter, Giraffe the fireman, and Elephant the bookseller are washouts (he's afraid of heights, and he'd rather read than shelve books). But his friends notice a professionally rewarding talent that Bulldog has overlooked: he makes fabulous cookies. On the final pages, Bulldog's Cookie Bakery is a smashing success: "Outside, everyone is yakking and laughing and waiting in a long, long line.... All the exciting hustle-bustle has come to him!" McMullan (I Stink!) and Lemaitre (Do Not Open This Book!) have put together an appealing package reminiscent of a Richard Scarry book. Each of Bulldog's misadventures unfolds on its own spread (with a chapter's worth of story on each), the ample text is succinct and bouncy, and the predominantly spot illustrations make judicious use of slapstick humor. The lesson is one worth learning: the road to finding one's professional bliss isn't always easy, but the end result is well worth the occasional pothole. Ages 3-7. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-After Bulldog bakes a batch of cookies, he goes looking for a job so he can be part of the hustle-bustle all around him. He tries working at the fire station, washing windows on tall buildings, sign painting at a flower shop, and shelving books in a bookstore. He fails at everything. He crashes the fire truck's ladder through the roof and freaks out at the height of the windows he's supposed to wash. He sneezes in the flower shop, sending art supplies and flowers crashing, and gets too involved reading the books he's been asked to shelve. All four employers tell him that he's not suited for the jobs. Bulldog offers them cookies and then heads home. That evening, Giraffe the firefighter, Spider the window washer, Moose the sign painter, and Elephant the bookseller show up at his door asking for more cookies. Bulldog discovers his true calling and opens Bulldog's Cookie Bakery. The illustrations were created in pen and ink, colored in Adobe Photoshop. The arrangement of the story is reminiscent of Richard Scarry's Busy Busy Town (Goldencraft, 1995). There are five or six scenes per spread. Everything is outlined in a thin black line and colored in flat hues. There's a lot to look at on each page, and children will enjoy poring over all the details.-Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI (c) Copyright 2011. 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
Bulldog's job-search lands him stints as a firefighter, window washer, sign painter, and bookseller. Each ends in a mess, prompting Bulldog to provide cookies as a peace offering. The treats are a hit, and Bulldog is back in business. The volume's outsized format, with pages filled with friendly animals going about their busy days, is reminiscent of Richard Scarry. (c) Copyright 2011. 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
Bulldog's quest for the perfect job leads readers on an amusing jaunt through a bustling town as he tries on the jobs of firefighter, window washer, sign painter and bookseller. Luckily, the bulldog cookies he baked help to pave over the mess he makes of each of them. Giraffe, Spider, Moose and Elephant are all very understanding about the mishapsa ladder through the roof of the firehouse, a case of acrophobia, a mistimed sneeze and the undeniable urge to read a great book rather than shelve itbut at the end of the day, Bulldog is still without a job. Or is he? Even a quick perusal will put readers in mind of another famously busy town, with its small paragraphs of text surrounding illustrated vignettes. Richard Scarryesque in style and animal population, Lemaitre's pen, ink and digital illustrations are filled with color and detail, though McMullan's plot is far more linear. This certainly won't replace Scarry, but it will probably find its way home with some of his loyal fans. (Picture book. 4-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
