My Dog Is As Smelly As Dirty Socks: And Other Funny Family Portraits - Hardcover

Piven, Hanoch

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375840524 ISBN 13: 9780375840524

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade, 2007

Synopsis

How do you draw your smelly dog? Your playful daddy? Your yummy mommy? See how one girl does it in this simple, clever picture book that's comprised of family portraits made out of objects. For example, her baby brother is so noisy—he's as loud as a whistle, a horn, and even a fire truck!—that she creates a picture of him with whistles for eyes, a horn mouth, and holding a fire truck. After the girl has described everyone in her family (including herself, in great detail), she asks, "What does your special family look like?" encouraging readers to create their own portraits. With a list of objects at the end of the book to use as a guide, this is the ideal choice for budding artists everywhere.

Here's a wonderful exploration of simile and metaphor for young readers. And don't miss the companion book My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil!

About this title

About the Author

Hanoch Piven is the illustrator of several children's books, including My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil and What Presidents Are Made Of, a Child Magazine Best Book and an ABA Kids' Pick of the List. He also illustrates for a number of publications, including Rolling Stone and The New Yorker. He lives in Barcelona, Spain.

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 2–4—Filled with plays on words and similes, this delightful offering will encourage children's creativity. The narrator makes a line drawing of her family but explains that it doesn't do them justice. "And what about this drawing of my mom? Sorry, but it doesn't tell the whole story. My mommy is as soft as the softest FLUFF and as bright as the brightest LIGHT." This section ends, "That's my yummy mommy!" The gouache-and-watercolor illustrations are embellished with glued-on objects like a lightbulb for a nose, a croissant for a mouth, and a boa for hair, in this case on Mom. The pictures support the text and add to the subtext. The book ends with an invitation to readers to create images of their families. Younger children will enjoy the story, but older kids will love the nuances, the opportunity for individuality, and the challenge of portraying their own relatives in this style. An author's note describes a workshop that Piven conducted for children hospitalized with cancer; their wonderful creations adorn the endpapers.—Linda M. Kenton, San Rafael Public Library, CA
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Edition details

• Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0375840524
• ISBN 13: 9780375840524
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Piven Hanoch