Rrralph

March 21, 2011
Ehlert (Lots of Spots) goes for the punny bone in this picture book inspired by family jokes about dogs and the sounds they make. The titular pup is plenty talkative, and in text that reads much like a comedy routine, he delivers his punch lines right on cue. The book's design sets up the narrator's question to the dog on one spread and follows with his answer on the next, additionally providing readers with a silly guessing game. At the outset, the narrator insists his dog can talk. "I found out when we first brought him home and I asked: What's your name?" The answer? "rrralph ralph." Later, Ralph explains "what's on that tree" ("bark bark bark") and how the ground feels under his paws ("rough rough"). Ehlert's always crisp collages feature textured paper torn or cut (pinking shear edges suggest Ralph's fur and a wolf's teeth), along with found objects (screws, tree bark, bottle caps) against a rainbow of solid-colored background pages. Ralph's zipper teeth and soda-can pull-tab nose give him a playful, slightly rakish look that's not soon forgotten. Ages 2â6.

A talking dog? Before you say, "Nonsense," take a listen to Lois Ehlert's playful picture book. From the moment he comes home and announces his name--"RRRalph" (roll those rrrs!)--Ralph answers his owner's questions. The path is "rrufff" and necessitates walking home on the grass; the covering on a tree is called "bark, bark, bark." And don't be frightened by the "woof, woof" (wolf) that Ralph spots! Andrew Watts's narration is as playful as the story. His voice is highly animated, and he enunciates and elongates each of the instances of wordplay with flair. Kids will enjoy the story while poring over Ehlert's signature collage illustrations. A.R. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine