This Little Pup

Starred review from February 1, 2020
An innovative counting book presents a spunky, gray puppy following a blue ball as it bounces past all sorts of animals on a family farm. The story begins with a wordless view of all the inhabitants of the farm, a traditional mix of animals and a human mother, father, and child, who all present white. The child holds a huge, blue ball, ready to toss it for the waiting puppy. The bouncing ball and the leaping puppy then lead readers through the brief, patterned text, bounding past two cows, three frogs, four pigs, and on in sequential fashion up to 10 chicks. Each group of animals appears on the following spread, linked by the text and interacting with the next set in some humorous way: "One blue ball... / bounced past two brown cows. Two brown cows... / spied three green frogs." The whole gang of animals and people end up in the barnyard, where the ball is at last caught by the persistent pup. A satisfying concluding page shows the puppy holding the ball out to the child for another toss. Charming illustrations are filled with expressive animals in motion, with black, segmented motion lines indicating the bouncing action of the blue ball. A large trim size and double-page-spread format make this a fine choice for reading aloud to a group, but the opportunity to count up all those adorable animals will reward perusal by lapsitters as well. This little pup knows how to stand up and be counted. (Picture book. 3-6)

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May 1, 2020
Preschool-G All is fairly peaceful on the family farm until a boy starts a game of fetch with the dog, whose enthusiastic, singularly focused pursuit of one blue ball through the barnyard leads to sneakily entertaining lessons in counting, colors, and animal recognition. As ball and dog hop by, two brown cows exhibit surprise. They continue past pigs, kittens, and nine squawking black hens seeking ten scattered chicks amidst escalating mayhem. Finally, as animals and family gather and watch, the ball chase becomes a ball caught, bringing welcome calm and a satisfied, worn-out pooch?at least for now. Lively, simple prose often continues spread to spread, lending a sense of anticipation and incorporating some repetition that's further boosted with action verbs ( pigs rolled; sheep giggled ), text formatting, and interjections. Delightful, colorful cartoonlike illustrations capture moments quiet to chaotic with droll touches?the ball's dashed-line trajectory and varying perspectives add extra pep. The cute, expressive animals and their antics and interactions are sure to amuse and engage younger ones on multiple levels, including as fun read-aloud.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2020
On a farm a large blue ball, tossed by a boy for his puppy to chase, leads readers across wide horizontal pages on a counting expedition from one to ten. "One blue ball... / bounced by two brown cows. / Two brown cows... / spied three green frogs. / Three green frogs..." Each double-page spread teases readers about what might be coming next and then yields a new surprise in a higher quantity. Full of texture and bright color contrasted with plenty of white space, the illustrations make it satisfyingly easy and appealing to identify what needs to be counted on each spread. Meanwhile, the ball bounces along, with the puppy chasing behind. By the time the ball bounces past nine squawking black hens and their ten yellow chicks, the spreads are bursting with animal activity, and persistent counters will be able to find all the creatures from the previous pages together on one culminating double-page spread. In the end, the puppy finally does catch its bouncing ball and delivers it back to the boy, ensuring that the adventure can begin all over again.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 1, 2020
On a farm a large blue ball, tossed by a boy for his puppy to chase, leads readers across wide horizontal pages on a counting expedition from one to ten. "One blue ball... / bounced by two brown cows. / Two brown cows... / spied three green frogs. / Three green frogs..." Each double-page spread teases readers about what might be coming next and then yields a new surprise in a higher quantity. Full of texture and bright color contrasted with plenty of white space, the illustrations make it satisfyingly easy and appealing to identify what needs to be counted on each spread. Meanwhile, the ball bounces along, with the puppy chasing behind. By the time the ball bounces past nine squawking black hens and their ten yellow chicks, the spreads are bursting with animal activity, and persistent counters will be able to find all the creatures from the previous pages together on one culminating double-page spread. In the end, the puppy finally does catch its bouncing ball and delivers it back to the boy, ensuring that the adventure can begin all over again. Julie Roach

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)