Dog-Gone School

May 27, 2013
The husband-and-wife team behind Loose Leashes dishes up another silly but irresistible concept, pairing school-themed poems with photographs of dogs riding the bus, visiting the school library, and tuning up for music class. A butterscotch terrier stands on a stack of books to reach a drinking fountain: “Ralphie has a hallway pass/ To visit the water fountain./ He can’t reach to get a drink,/ So he’s built a giant mountain.” Beneath a free verse poem, two Australian shepherd puppies gaze at a globe: “At our school,/ On our street,/ In our city,/ Inside our state,/ Within our country,/ On our continent,/ Of this world.” In an age when dogs go to daycare and the spa, the Schmidts’ conceit isn’t so farfetched. Ages 3–7.

June 1, 2013
Author Schmidt has crafted 16 poems, in different forms, about school, and aside from a couple of canine-specific outliers, any of these could be about a child's school day. For children and dog lovers alike, Illustrator Schmidt's photographs of dogs and adorable puppies will be the biggest draw here. Posed in school scenes, sometimes with props, many of his pups express their emotions with their eyes and ears, even if only to communicate to the photographer, "Why are you doing this to me?" The verses offer readers a mix of poetic forms, some of which will be well-known and others that will be new: acrostic, cinquain, quatrain, climbing rhyme, haiku and monorhyme among them. They focus on common school-day routines--from riding the bus, using the hallway pass, lunch and recess to academic subjects (spelling, math, reading, science, geography) and specials (art, music, library). There are even some naughty "students"--one who ate his homework and two suspects in a shoe-chewing incident. Though some may dub the collection doggerel, dog lovers beginning school will be enchanted. (Picture book/poetry. 3-7)

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May 1, 2013

Gr 1-3-Carefully posed photographs and short poems present a cast of attractive dogs appearing in human guise as they did in the Schmidts's Loose Leashes (Random, 2009). Representing schoolchildren, one pup wears safety goggles while one sports a backpack, but otherwise they are not clothed. They are all handsome, and many have naturally mournful-looking faces so that they seem expressive. Only the poems suggest that they might be active, playful, or naughty. Seeing a couple of canines seated nicely on a chair next to an office door labeled "Principal," readers are told that "one of these two fellows/chewed up their teacher's shoe." The spare use of props and settings, starting with a large yellow school bus with dogs gazing out of four windows, generally represent school activities. "Book Nook" seriously misses the mark, however, with broad shelves of what appear to be thin, identical bound files in varied colors. "Tales of knights and fairy tales, /Facts on mummies, bats, or whales!" It doesn't really look to be "this cool place." Though the scheme and poetry fall flat, both do offer nice variety in the poetic forms and dogs. A concluding "class" list identifies an impressive 31 different breeds-only one dog appears twice, though some are similar in appearance. Some teachers may find useful examples for teaching poetry, and dog-loving browsers will be attracted by these endearing animals.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

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