Courtney - Hardcover

Burningham, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0517598833 ISBN 13: 9780517598832

Publisher: Crown Publishers, 1994

Synopsis

The children bring home an old mongrel named Courtney who cooks, serves meals, juggles, and even saves the baby from a fire, only to disappear mysteriously

About this title

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2-When the children want a pet, their parents reluctantly send them to the Dogs' Home with the instructions to adopt one with a proper pedigree. The children, who follow their own counsel, have only one requirement: they want a dog that nobody else wants, one that will not easily find a home. The canine that fills this requirement is Courtney, an old, unwanted mongrel who proves to have a long list of unexpected capabilities. He wins grudging approval from the parents by cooking, playing the violin, and entertaining the baby. When he disappears, their disapproval of his undocumented lineage is confirmed ("If they are not thoroughbreds, you cannot rely on them"). During a summer boating accident, when the children are dangerously set adrift in the sea, they are miraculously towed ashore by something or someone the adults cannot quite see. Of course, readers may guess, or, if they look closely, they may even see the deliverer. This is all typically assured Burningham at his ironic best: the deadpan, unregenerate parents; the sagacious youngsters; and a dog who looks a bit like Groucho Marx. The artist's expressive, broken-line cartoons convey his wit. His spreads, full of white space and unsaturated colors, express a lightheartedness well suited to a message of the triumph of simple, childlike acceptance-a message ever so gently delivered with successfully sly humor.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Burningham's ( Hey, Get Off Our Train! ; Granpa ) insouciant tale opens as two children beseech their parents for a dog. Although the adults insist that such a pet needs a great deal of care, they breezily give in ("Oh, very well then, if you must."), provided that the kids choose a "proper dog. One with a pedigree." Instead, the youngsters decide on an old mongrel named Courtney who, as it turns out, is no ordinary canine. Soon after arriving, he slips away and returns lugging a huge pink trunk. From it he pulls a chef's hat and proceeds to cook up a meal. Donning a waiter's jacket, Courtney serves the food in style, and then plays the violin while the family dines. This astonishing pet goes on to display great bravery when he saves the baby from the family's burning house. Like the siblings featured here, readers may be distressed when Courtney and his trunk disappear one day, but the tale's cleverly cryptic ending implies that the heroic dog has not really abandoned his adopted family. A caveat: though intentionally sketchy, Burningham's art on some pages seems unfinished. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

One of Britain's most thoughtful and creative picture-book makers gives a familiar scenario his own inimitable spin. When ``the children'' beg for a dog, the usual debate ensues. Permission finally granted, the boy and girl ignore their parents' admonition (``Make sure it's a proper dog. One with a pedigree'') and request ``a dog that nobody wants.'' The parents are horrified when they bring home a mongrel, but Courtney turns out to be a paragon who cooks delicious meals, plays the violin, cleans the house, and rescues the baby when a fire breaks out. Still, when he disappears, the parents observe that, ``If they are not thoroughbreds, you cannot rely on them.'' In a final sequence the kids are saved from drifting out to sea by a hero identified only in the background of an illustration as their erstwhile dog. Appropriate to the gently ironic tone and carefully understated subtext, Burningham's pictures here are in his familiar cartoon mode, poignantly expressive but without the marvelously vibrant alternating spreads he has often used to express a child's imagination or emotions (e.g., in John Patrick Norman McHennessy... [1988]). Witty, well told, and superbly illustrated. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 4-8. Burningham's picture books are often about lonely children who get little sympathy from adults. The children in this story want a dog. They nag their irritable, fussy parents, who eventually give in, provided "it's a proper dog. One with a pedigree." But the children bring home Courtney, an old, scruffy mongrel that no one else wants. The parents are appalled, though they do soften when Courtney cooks, cleans, plays the violin, and even saves the baby from a fire. But when he disappears one day, the adults are quick to blame him for not being a reliable "thoroughbred." He never returns, but then the children are mysteriously rescued at seaÿ20.ÿ20.ÿ20. Burningham's economical line drawings, with understated color and lots of white space, allow you to fill in the depth of feeling and character in the story. The fantasy is wonderfully matter-of-fact. The adults are so narrow, the dog so world-weary and competent. This pet is the stranger-guardian we all long for, to help us through the storm at sea and protect the walls of home. Hazel Rochman

Edition details

• Publisher: Crown Publishers
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0517598833
• ISBN 13: 9780517598832
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32