God Got a Dog

August 5, 2013
Sixteen poems from Rylant’s God Went to Beauty School (2003) return in a new collection, accompanied by new artwork from Frazee, whose graphite-and-gouache illustrations are ideally attuned to the poems’ moments of irreverent humor and poignant reflection. In several images, Frazee portrays God as a child, such as the girl with spiky braids and yellow life vest riding in a swan boat in “God got a boat,” or the boy sprawled out on a sofa in “God caught a cold,” tissues littering the floor (“It’s hard to/ thunder/ ‘Thou shalt not!’/ when it comes out/ ‘Thou shalt dot!’ ”). Rylant and Frazee’s visions of God as a trucker delivering a fan letter to a country music singer, an ostensibly homeless woman walking through a gorgeous gothic church, and a dadlike fellow in plaid pajamas and slippers sipping coffee under an apple tree combine to form a celebration of God’s humanity and mankind’s divinity. Ages 10–up. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

Several of the poems from Rylant's wry meditation God Went to Beauty School (2003) are regathered, rearranged and luminously illustrated by Frazee. Notably absent is the poem "God Is a Girl," as Rylant has expanded that notion by occasionally regendering the deity so He becomes She in roughly half the poems. In the titular poem, readers learn that "She never meant to. / ... / She was always working / and dogs needed so / much attention. / God didn't know if She / could take being needed / by one more thing." Frazee's illustrations take the idea of the multiplicity of God in all of us and run with it, depicting Him or Her as a black, tattooed nail artist; a middle-aged white woman eating by herself; a little dark-skinned boy on roller skates (with hair sticking straight! up!); a bearded, dark-skinned dude playing poker with Gabriel; a homeless black woman. An illustration appears opposite each poem, allowing readers to stop and ponder each of God's earthly aspects. Divinity is indicated with a faint halo, but Frazee never sacrifices the ineffable humanity of each depiction; her Gods are fat, skinny, joyful, contemplative, worn-out. Readers will be glad and relieved when they turn the final page to learn that, having adopted Ernie the dog, God now "has somebody / keeping Her feet warm at night." Funny, devout and oh, so human; this collection hits home. (Poetry. 10 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from October 1, 2013

Gr 5 Up-An award-winning author and illustrator team up to create a lyrical celebration of where the divine meets the mundane, and ultimately what it means to be human. In this small book of poetry, God decides to "try out" different activities and experiences of humanity, and the results are by turns thought-provoking and inspiring. Each of the 15 poems is coupled with a quietly incandescent illustration that supports the text but doesn't overwhelm it or diminish its impact. Taken from the author's longer collection God Went to Beauty School (HarperCollins, 2003), this slimmed down, repackaged version brilliantly captures its sweetness and substance but provides a simpler progression and arc. Selections alternate pronouns for the deity, with God referred to as He or She in each poem. In "God Got Arrested," his anger "erupted like/the wrath of.../Oh, right./Never mind." While this title might be controversial and potentially inappropriate for some religious institutions, it will appeal to a wide audience of both children and adults. This is one book that's easy to pick up, but hard to put down again.-Stephanie Whelan, New York Public Library

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2013
Grades 6-9 *Starred Review* Oh, God. As this book so intriguingly suggests, You do come in many shapes and sizes. Colors, too. But more than what the deity looks like, this slim volume of 15 poems focuses on what God does. Each poem title is a declarative sentence with a strong verb: God woke up. God went to beauty school. And tenderly, God found God. The free verse suggests faces of God that probably won't be familiar to Sunday school students. For instance, when God went to India, it was to see elephants, one of the best things he has made. Elephants know how to mourn, as God does, because he has lost everything: You make life / You make death. When God got a boat, she is surprised to discover how much sense her creation makes, far more so than looking at Earth from far away. And after God went skating, it's clear that the occasional invincibility God feels is matched by a willingness to try new things. The messages aren't always immediately clear, but that's what makes this so much fun. Seeing God in new ways allows children to think about their relationship to him or her differently. In this interpretation, God and humans are cocreators of an evolving world. Though the poetry has been published before in a collection, the artwork is all new. Frazee's pictures, each facing a page of text, are a powerful contrast of light and darkness, restlessness and contentment. God didn't think she had time for a dog. But she got one anyway.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)