Madlenka's Dog

April 1, 2002
Favorite characters return for more fun and games. Her persistent requests for a dog denied, Madlenka takes matters into her own hands (and gets more than she bargained for) in Madlenka's Dog by Peter Sis. As Madlenka strolls her city block with her imaginary dog on a leash, lift-up flaps and die-cut windows reveal her neighbors' own dream dogs.

Starred review from April 1, 2002
PreS-Gr 4-S's's little girl returns for another walk around her city block, this time with an invisible dog. Again, she meets friendly people representing a wide variety of cultures. Each person remembers a dog he or she loved, and when readers lift a flap over what an individual is carrying, they see a picture of the dog and youthful owner together. Later, Madlenka meets her friend Cleopatra, who loves horses as much as she loves dogs. The girls then imagine themselves in exotic settings. Peekaboo cutouts as well as extravagant colors are featured in this part of the book. The writing is straightforward and simple while the artwork makes beautiful use of detail, color, and space. Madlenka's parents' dismay at their daughter's wish for a dog is humorously shown through the body language of simple silhouettes. Small but effective touches of warmth and color accent the drab gray of the city streets. While not as distinctive or original as some of S's's more ambitious work, this title celebrates the power of imagination and shows a child finding real joy in her community.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2002
Ages 3-7. The irrepressible star of " Madlenka "(2000) returns for another fantastical walk around the block. This time, it's an invisible dog that Madlenka wants to share with the world--an imaginary stand-in for the actual pet she yearns for. Walking her empty collar and leash, Madlenka encounters her neighbors. Each person disagrees about what Madlenka's dog looks like, and clever lift-up flaps reveal that everyone is picturing the real or imagined dogs of his or her youth: Mr. McGregor's drum opens to show a boy chasing a terrier; Mr. Mingus' instrument case lifts to reveal a boy and his Dalmatian. Then Madlenka runs into her friend, Cleopatra, who is leading an imaginary horse, and the fantasy explodes into beautiful wordless spreads of the two friends soaring through the imagined worlds of their games--from medieval Europe to Egypt to Arctic ice floes-- always joined by their animal friends. With perspectives that shift from concrete, aerial cityscapes to borderless fantasy, Sis' illustrations capture the joy and the power of imaginative play, with spare text that lets the images tell a story that is lighthearted and elegant, simple and profound.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)