Bonesy and Isabel - Hardcover

Rosen, Michael J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152098135 ISBN 13: 9780152098131

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1995

Synopsis

Old Bonesy, the much-loved dog in the house on Sunbury Road, becomes the special companion to Isabel, a newly adopted girl from El Salvador, helping her learn English and adapt to her new home.

About this title

About the Authors

www.fidosopher.com

James Ransome has illustrated more than 35 books for children, including many award winners. He lives in Rhinebeck, New York, with his wife, children's book author Lesa Cline Ransome, and their four children. Visit his website at www.jamesransome.com.

Reviews

Grade 2-4?A story in which a child learns that communication goes infinitely beyond the spoken word, and in which a loss cements a loving relationship between three special people. When Ivan and Vera adopt a young girl from El Salvador, Isabel joins the already teeming household of at least 35 "countable" creatures including horses, ducks, cats, and dogs. Of all the animals, it is the "inside" dog, elderly Bonesy, that becomes the girl's true compa?ero. As she sounds out strange new words, he offers her unspoken encouragement, thumping his tail whether she addresses him in English or Spanish. One evening during a dinner party, Isabel realizes that something is wrong with Bonesy; she slips under the table and tries to wake him, without success. Eventually, Vera and Ivan join her on the floor, and tears are the language that they share. Ransome's art glows with sun-drenched colors that reflect the warmth of this household. Rosen's language is rich with description as he takes ample time to set the scene. While the book's appeal may be a bit more narrow than Elijah's Angel (Harcourt, 1992) and some of Rosen's other collaborations, there is the shared emphasis that true friendship transcends all barriers.?Lisa S. Murphy, formerly at Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Rosen's (The Greatest Table) characteristically earnest tones turn mawkish in this self-consciously sensitive story. Isabel, an El Salvadoran girl, is adopted by an American couple who live in the country ("on Sunbury Road") with oodles of animals. Like the animals, Isabel cannot understand the English of the adults: "And so Isabel spent her summer listening to the animals who showed her all they knew about the place." She grows close to Bonesy, the old retriever, to whom she feeds dinner scraps. One night Bonesy dies while under the supper table, and Isabel is joined under the table by her new parents; silent mourning overcomes their language barrier. This introspective story may hold little interest for children (and the maudlin ending is a real eye-roller for adults). Ransome's (Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt) oil paintings capably represent the setting but, like the prose, fail to communicate real emotions. Ages 4-12.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4^-9. The death of a pet has special poignancy in this picture-book story of a newly adopted child who comes from El Salvador to live with Vera and Ivan on their farm on Sunbury Road. Ransome's light-filled, richly colored oil paintings capture the idyllic setting as Isabel is made to feel at home with the loving couple, their friends, and all the animals on the farm and in the big, old house. In quiet, lyrical sentences, Rosen tells how Isabel, like the farm dogs, has been rescued from dangerous roads. Now people speak to her in a strange language, but she knows the words mean "We care for you." Isabel feels especially close to old Bonesy, the inside dog, feeding him under the table and stroking him with her toes; when he dies, her shared sorrow with Vera and Ivan needs no translation. The close-up portraits of the grieving family crouched under the table with Bonesy are intense and personal; then they reach out to the wide natural landscape around them. Hazel Rochman

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152098135
• ISBN 13: 9780152098131
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Ransome James
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32