Little Brown

August 13, 2018
It’s another day at the dog park. “The big dogs chased balls,” writes Frazee (The Farmer and the Clown). “The small dogs ran around in circles. The old dogs napped together in the shade. The young dogs got muddy.” And then there’s Little Brown. With a powerful stink-eye and his back curved in resentment, he sits alone by the fence and seethes. He’s been cranky for so long that nobody knows which came first: is he that way because he’s lonely and ignored, or did his crankiness drive the other dogs away? When Little Brown finally acts out by swiping all the toys in the park—he sits on top of the pile, a canine king of the hill—the remaining hounds wonder how to respond, and so does Little Brown. No one steps in to resolve the standoff, the rain arrives, and all the dogs head home with the vague hope that “Maybe tomorrow... they would know what to do.” It’s not much in the way of a balm, but the book sensitively and successfully handles the idea that social dynamics can become difficult over time. Ages up to 8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

August 15, 2018
A cranky dog faces the consequences of his crankiness in this picture book.Author/illustrator Frazee's pencil and gouache illustrations show a cranky, scowling brown dog--Little Brown--sitting alone against the chain-link fence of a bare-bones dog park. The hand-lettered text is a subtle touch, infusing a friendly warmth into the physical look of the words, and the illustrations are done in a warm, muted palette, and readers may subconsciously begin to hope that with all this visual warmth, Little Brown will find playmates at last. It's not that he doesn't have plenty of opportunity--there are many other dogs in the park. So when a ball rolls his way and Little Brown grabs it, this looks like the beginning of the end of Little Brown's isolation and crankiness. But he then decides to grab the other toys, and in a jiffy, he's collected a whole pile and stands on top of them, like a dragon hoarding treasure. Now there is a "dilemma." The dogs wonder if they should play with Little Brown in order to get their toys back (or would that make them cranky too?), and Little Brown wonders if he gives it all back, will they play with him, and what if they don't? Weirdly, this dilemma remains unresolved, leaving readers to continue the pondering: It becomes time to go and "maybe tomorrow / they would know what to do."A promising start dissolves to an undetermined, unsatisfying conclusion. (Picture book. 4-8)

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November 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 2-Little Brown feels isolated at the dog park. The other dogs play and communicate with one another while he sits alone next to the chain-link fence. Frazee poses the conundrum: is his grouchiness the reason he's left alone or does being friendless put him in a perpetually bad mood? Fed up with being ignored, Little Brown suddenly and methodically seizes all the toys the other animals have been enjoying. Astounded at his actions, they all sit and stare at him in confusion as he perches, King of the Mountain-style, on top of his toy-hostage haul. Illustrations in gouache and black Prismacolor are in muted shades of gray, tan and rust. Thought bubbles let readers in on the dogs' bewilderment and indecision on what to do about their situation. And their decision is classic. The endpapers show every one of the 17 dogs pictured and labeled with its name, except for Little Brown whose photo has a question mark attached to it. VERDICT An open-ended story that creates a great starting point for meaningful discussion with young children about bullying and inclusion.-Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2018
Preschool-G Little Brown the dog is cranky. But is it because the other dogs at the dog park won't play with him, or do they refuse to play with him because he's cranky? It's a conundrum that is only heightened when Little Brown decides to show his increasing displeasure by stealing the other dogs' toys, one by one, until he sits atop a mountain of stuff. The dogs huddle, pondering the source of Little Brown's foul mood. Should they play with him to get their toys back? Little Brown, for his part, wonders what to do, too. But as night falls and the contemplating only continues, the dogs decide to go home and think about it all tomorrow. This bit of Scarlett O'Hara philosophy may not prove entirely satisfying to preschoolers, but it might be a starting-off point for discussions about kids who don't play in conventional ways. As usual, Frazee's illustrations, rendered in pencil and gouache, have a high charm factor, including the endpapers that feature portraits of each of the park dogs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)