Review by Booklist Review
In Blue's Clues creator Kessler's sequel to The Good Dog (2015), a thief strikes the Happy Family Bakery. At first just a few pastries go missing a cupcake here, a cherry chewbilee there but then a picture disappears from its frame, followed by another item each day. Luckily, Tako (the family dog) is on the case and manages to catch the sticky-pawed cat burglar and chase her from the bakery. Allie the cat continues to turn up around the neighborhood, filching snacks and getting into fights with Tako, but eventually she gets into some serious trouble. As Tako grows worried about Allie's safety, he realizes that maybe all the cat really needs is a home and a friend. This long-form picture book offers a lengthier story to youngsters who might not be ready for chapter books. Though the book is more than 100 pages, watercolor illustrations cover each page and keep the story moving. The result is a sweet account of friendship and adventure that will please kids for whom one picture book is never enough.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this sequel to The Good Dog, Kessler and Olson bring readers back to the Happy Family Bakery, where Tako the dog is a helpful presence for the Lee family, especially after he identifies a feline thief who is stealing from the store. Thus begins a rivalry between Tako and the cat, dubbed Allie, but as the two continue to run into each other, Tako's opinions of the supposedly "bad" cat change. To Kessler's credit, the story moves briskly despite its substantial length, but Olson's gestural drawings only provide rough visual scaffolding for the action, and the softening in Tako and Allie's relationship feels more drawn-out than deeply explored. Ages 5-7. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Tako is a good dog who loves adventure and his family, so when a thief starts stealing various items around the house, Tako takes it upon himself to find the culprit. The dog quickly tracks down the suspect, a homeless alley cat, and quickly chases her away. Reluctantly, Tako sees the world through the eyes of the thief, learning to be compassionate for the less fortunate feline. The format is rather interesting; it combines the simple word choice of an advanced easy reader with the quantity of illustrations of a picture book and the length and arching narrative of a junior chapter book. That may limit the potential audience, since this offering's length makes it difficult to use for storytime and it's too visual for a read-aloud. But it will certainly serve as a great bridge between easy readers and beginning chapter books and perhaps as a way for reluctant readers to start using easy readers. Olson's illustrations are soft and childlike, which adds to the empathetic tone of the piece. VERDICT A strong addition for most collections.-Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI © Copyright 2016. 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.
