Lenore Finds a Friend

July 15, 2012
Lenore the black Lab befriends a cranky ram named Brutus in another entry in the popular streak of recent stories focusing on unlikely animal pals. Katz continues to chronicle life on his farm in upstate New York with his second book for children, following Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm (2011). When Lenore arrives at the farm as a boisterous puppy, she tries to engage Rose, the border collie who herds the sheep of Bedlam Farm. Rose ignores Lenore, so the puppy buddies up to Brutus the ram, giving him "kisses" on his nose and following him around the farm. At first, Rose tries to intervene, but eventually she accepts Lenore as part of the farm family. Though the story anthropomorphizes the dogs and ram a bit too much, the appealing photographs clearly convey Lenore's winning personality with some touching shots of sad puppy eyes and sweet interactions between the Lab and the ram. The intriguing subject matter, large type size and short sentence length make this suitable for beginning readers as well as younger children. Bedlam Farm seems an idyllic spot with a natural appeal to children, who are likely to ask for more about Lenore. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 15, 2012
Preschool-G Two of the canine stars of Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm (2011) return in this gentle true story of interspecies affection. Katz again pulls double-duty as writer and photographer and hooks readers from the first spread: When Lenore came to Bedlam Farm, she was just a puppy. None of the other animals wanted to be her friend. This, of course, is paired with a heart-melting shot of a lonely-looking puppy. Katz skillfully uses the repetition of a picture book to continue the story: The rooster crowed at her. The donkey tried to kick her. The goats just jeered. The plot soon becomes a three-character struggle between Lenore, the ram she kisses in hopes of making a friend, and border collie Rose, who disapproves of the relationship: Why would a dog want to be friends with a ram? Katz's photos, too, share the compositional traits of a picture book, with characters effectively foregrounded or split off into opposing halves of a frame to signal rumination or opposition. It's irresistible, of coursesmall, personal, and heartwarming.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)