CITY DOG - Hardcover

Kuskin, Karla

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395661382 ISBN 13: 9780395661383

Publisher: Clarion Books, 1994

Synopsis

Evocative verse and brightly colored illustrations follow a city dog as she explores the countryside, so different from her home in the crowded city, and discovers new sights, sounds, and smells.

About this title

About the Author:

Karla Kuskin wrote more than fifty books for children, including the Philharmonic Gets Dressed, Green as a Bean, and Moon, Have You Met My Mother She was the winner of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry, among other honors. And once, long ago, may have given her son a woolly red hat.

From Booklist:

Ages 4-7. The phrase "It's a dog's life" gets a reverse meaning in this happy romp. A more contented pooch never graced the pages of a picture book than this pup, who enthusiastically drags her tangled leash and poky owners to the car as they set out on a trip to the seashore. Unleashed, city dog revels in its freedom, only vaguely curious about the absence of buildings. Every new sight is amazing: "Soft grass, warm ground, rabbit holes to paw and nose, fast bikes, bare toes. Blue waves, crabs, crows." The reader is visually drawn into the action by the strong horizontal line of the strained red leash, which stretches across the preliminary pages. Once the city is left behind and the leash is unfastened, cool green hills and blue sea and sky provide both soothing backdrop and comical contrast to the dog's energetic antics. In two particularly effective scenes, city dog is, in true doggy fashion, literally everywhere at once. The mixed-meter, rhymed verse is a joy to read aloud and strong enough to stand on its own without illustration. The complete running text of the poem is appended. Elizabeth Bush

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0395661382
• ISBN 13: 9780395661383
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 30