What Faust Saw - Hardcover

Ottley, Matt

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525456503 ISBN 13: 9780525456506

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, 1996

Synopsis

Sighting aliens from the window of his home, a dutiful watchdog goes to extensive lengths to protect his humans and winds up locked out for the night, a situation that results in his unwitting participation in a game of alien hide-and-seek.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Poor Faust is the Cassandra of canines, his warnings falling on disbelieving ears. The skittish dog howls to alert his sleeping owners to a UFO and its slithery occupants. The humans, of course, can't see what Faust is barking at, and they toss him into the backyard. There, the cringing dog has a close encounter with some Bosch-style monstrosities, from an elephant-headed pterodactyl to a many-eyed octopus. Variable type and curving lines of text accentuate the drama, soaring in the sky and ducking around corners just as the extraterrestrials do. Ottley, an Australian author/artist, paints the marauding mutants in cartoonish hues of red, yellow, blue and green to contrast with the placid, moonlit suburban setting. He portrays them as tricksters who return Faust to his house through an open window and hide behind picket fences when "Dad" ventures outdoors with a flashlight. Whether the extraterrestrials return to outer space is left in doubt; the only clue is a museum sign advertising a "Life on Other Planets" exhibition. Not a bedtime book for kids who fear things that go bump in the night, this goofy misadventure concludes with Faust sadder but wiser: "The next time he woke up and saw something strange... he would go back to sleep." Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3?This is a close encounter of the best kind with goofy-looking aliens and a lovable dog trying his best to cope. Watchdog Faust is awakened one night by a flying saucer landing in the cove behind the house. He tries to warn family members, but they are annoyed with his frantic efforts to alert them. Faust is banished to the backyard, where the space creatures make his life miserable, so he runs away. The hapless hound is then seized by the dogcatcher. In the end, he is rescued by his family, all is forgiven, and he develops a new approach to dealing with life's little surprises. The soft-focus illustrations are warm and slightly surreal. Faust is rendered as a huggable hound dog and the aliens are comical and a trifle bizarre, not scary. Text appears in a variety of typefaces that winds through the illustrations, adding to the comic effect. Readers will want to take time for a careful examination of each picture. Ottley does a great job of showing the sleepy family's annoyance at being awakened and Faust's sense of urgency about protecting his ungrateful owners. Rib-tickling adventure for the younger crowd and a surefire hit for story times.?Jane Claes, T. J. Lee Elementary School, Irving, TX
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0525456503
• ISBN 13: 9780525456506
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Ottley Matt