Up on Bob

Sullivan, creator of Geisel Honor Book Ball (2013), returns to canine characters with what should go down as one of 2020's most charming works. A narrator introduces Bob, a deep-brown, short-haired dachshund who enjoys life's simple pleasures. Standing atop a child's bed, Bob sets about his day's work. Visibly determined, he tosses the pillows and dolls, clears the lamp table, and rumples the sheets until, finally, everything is perfect, and he eases into his day-long nap. Meanwhile, two pointy ears slowly rise behind the bed. Uh-oh. Bob's face shows that he knows Someone is coming Someone being a mischievous gray cat. As her wily face appears behind a despairing Bob, the narrator urges him, Pretend you are sleeping, which seems to work, but then POUNCE! Someone is standing on Bob's back. She sets about her own work, kneading, licking, and curling up with Bob, until, once again, everything is perfect. Short sentences make this accessible to beginning readers while also humorously reflecting Bob's simple desires. Perfect pacing builds suspense and adds to the hilarity, with most of the storytelling relayed through Bob's shifting expressions. Sullivan has an uncanny ability to capture the details of animal behavior, injecting humanity through facial expressions. She taps into that deep magic invoked by both cats and dogs, and the effects are irresistibly heartwarming.--Ronny Khuri Copyright 2019 Booklist

Dog and cat meet cute and make friends.Bob is a dachshund with huge, expressive eyes and a mission to sleep all day on a carefully made twin bed. The understated text works with the drolly humorous illustrations to describe Bob's "hard work" of creating a perfectly comfy sleeping spot. The dog tosses stuffed animals off the bed, rumples up the bedding, knocks over a lamp, and then settles in to the chaos in a cozy nest of pillows and blankets. A set of cat ears appears behind the bed, and the cat is gradually revealed on subsequent pages, referred to in mysterious fashion only as Someone. The cat watches and waits and then, on a double-page-spread with great dramatic impact, leaps through the air toward Bob. This spread with the attacking cat has as text only the single word "POUNCE!" illustrated in huge letters with the effect of reverberating motion. Replacing "Bob" with "Someone," the text then repeats all the steps Bob went through to create the perfect sleeping spot, this time with illustrations depicting the cat mauling Bob and crawling in next to the surprisingly tolerant dog for a long nap together. Both Bob and Someone the cat have irresistible expressions, with their huge eyes conveying emotion on every page. This funny story will have wide appeal, from preschoolers just learning about humor right up to new readers, who will be able to handle the brief text set in a large fontA clever twist on traditional dog-versus-cat animosity, with subtle overtones of sharing and tolerance. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.