Buster - Hardcover

Fleming, Denise

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805062793 ISBN 13: 9780805062793

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2003

Synopsis

Buster does not like change. But change is coming . . . and its name is Betty

"Buster was a happy dog.
He had everything he could ever want-until one day,
when his owner brought home a big box."

Buster hoped there would be juicy steaks or fancy cheeses or spicy sausages in the box. But inside was something Buster did not want. And that something was a cat named Betty.

Buster is a 2004 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

About this title

Review

Ahh, it’s the good life for Buster, a red, pointy-nosed dog. He has his own dishes (with his name painted in curvy letters), a big grassy yard, an in-and-out flap on the back door, and "Brown Shoes," who takes Buster to the park any time he wants. But on the day Brown Shoes brings home a big box--which does not contain sausages or fancy French cheeses, as Buster hopes--life takes a dramatic turn for the worse. Enter Betty, a fluffy white kitten, who doesn’t seem to realize that Buster is scared of cats. When she starts purring and winding around Buster’s legs, he freezes: "Buster was terrified. He was afraid to move. 'If I ignore her,' thought Buster, 'maybe she’ll go away.'" Of course, she doesn’t, so Buster does. Running off to a park across town, Buster has a lovely day... until he realizes he has no idea how to get back home again. Can you guess who comes to the rescue?

Denise Fleming’s distinctive artistic style, as seen in such earlier picture books as The Everything Book and Alphabet Under Construction , uses pulp painting to create lush, rich pages thickly covered in color and texture. The picture book is divided into six titled "chapters," giving younger readers a feel for early chapter books, and includes a map of Buster's route home. Charming--highly recommended! (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie Coulter

About the Author

Denise Fleming has written and illustrated many children's books, including In the Tall, Tall Grass, Shout! Shout It Out!, and Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy. She won a Caldecott Honor for In the Small, Small Pond. Denise published her first painting in the third grade, when she started taking classes at the Toledo Museum of Art and one of her paintings was chosen to be the cover of a teacher's magazine. She now works primarily with paper, by pouring colored paper pulp through hand-cut stencils. She lives in Toledo, Ohio.

About this edition

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0805062793
• ISBN 13: 9780805062793
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Fleming Denise