Hold on now. Is this the way it's going to go down? I just posted about my 35th read, and here I go posting about number 36? The very next book on the shelf was that good?
Oh yes... it is that good and much, much more.
Is it because it was written by none other than Madeleine L'Engle herself? Maybe. But more likely it's because of the way it functions as a picture book.
If you read the text alone I don't think the story would make much sense. The narrator would appear to be a dog complaining about a new canine addition who seems (to the narrator) to be a bit unnecessary.
On the other hand, if you were to just look at the pictures I don't think the story would seem any more than that of a new born and a poodle cohabiting a home.
What works so well here is that they (the text and the illustrations) need one another in order to be effective. Better yet, in a world of animated movies where animals give insight as to how they perceive humans and human actions, this work feels completely original.
Oh yeah... it's that good!
- Matthew
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