Friday, February 09, 2007

Poetry Friday Goes to the Dogs



I watched Lassie Come Home (we have the book) last night. Not the movie you should watch if you want a dog and can't have one right now (to be fair, I don't think I will ever be in a position to own a collie in good conscience). I don't normally cry at movies or books, but give me a good dog story and you'll see buckets. This happens even if the story has a happy ending like Because of Winn Dixie.

Since I'm in a doggy kind of mood today, this is the perfect time to tell you about Good Dog, which is a collection of poems written by Maya Gottfried. I read this when I was a children's librarian in the Houston area (it was on the 2006-7 Texas Bluebonnet Award list). The poems are told from the perspective of a multitude of breeds, such as a Chihuahua with attitude (is there any other kind?), a Pug that is just STARVING for dinner (again, any other kind of pug?), and a Chow who is beyond ready for a walk. Mutts are last but certainly not least in this collection, for a representative is the subject of the title poem.

The illustrations by Robert Rahway Zakanitch are hysterical (I love the poofy-and embarrassed-pomeranian). This is a man who knows dogs. The illustrations are an extension of his "Agressive Goodness Series" of dog portraits; Maya Gottfried created the poems based on the illustrations.

Laugh out loud poems, awesome illustrations, and an overall fun read. Who says poetry is boring?

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