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Originality; that is why this story is so great. The little boy can’t have a dog—not because of allergies or money or space, but because of a funny reason that ties into his dad’s work in a pepper factory. The reason the other pet didn’t work out was because “the lizard only moved twice a day, and sometimes Harry couldn’t see it because it would become the color of his rug or pajamas.”
Berger (The Elephant Wish) then moves the story along by saying, “one dogless day, he has an idea.” Harry creates a dog named Waffle out of thin air by placing on his head the X-35, a contraption he made from aluminum foil and an old football helmet.
Waffle seems to be part cloud and part dream. But because he looks and behaves like his dream dog, Harry falls in love. When the dog has fleas, he uses his dad’s hairbrush to clean the fur. When his friend Mathilda says she can’t see the dog, Harry says, “he’s the color of everything,” just like Mathilda’s chameleon.
A change in occupation (from pepper to ping pong balls) allows Harry’s father to bring home a real dog—Bumper—for Harry. Although the real dog and Waffle can’t see each other at first, the little boy with the big imagination finds a way to introduce them to one another. Then everyone is twice as happy! Catrow’s (I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More!) gouache, pencil and ink illustrations are just as fabulous as this story.
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Tanya Boudreau/2014 for curled
up with a good kid's book |
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For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews,
visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)
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Dream Dog