Puppy!

January 18, 2016
With exuberantly old-school cartooning and a wealth of sight and sound gags, Graves (Second Banana) takes readers back to a paleontologically inaccurate but very funny past to meet Trog, a cave boy who decides that a stray baby dinosaur is the puppy he’s yearned for. “Puppy” has a toothy underbite, Groucho eyebrows, and pink stripes. Trog adores him, and while the boy may have a limited vocabulary (two words is the most he can muster), he’s relentlessly upbeat about pet ownership and tireless in his efforts to make his new pet feel at home in the family cave—even when Puppy eats everything in sight and promptly poops. So why does Puppy cry all time (Graves writes “Boo hoooohoooo” in wonderfully plaintive pencil scrawls) and refuse to be consoled? Readers will probably guess long before Trog does that Puppy misses his Mommy, but they’ll still get a kick out of seeing how the homesick dinosaur and his indefatigable, putative owner try to control their own and each other’s destinies. Ages 4–8. Agent: Liza Pulitzer Voges, Eden Street Literary.

January 1, 2016
For boys, at least, some things haven't changed since the Stone Age. Caveboy Trog has the best toys--a stick, a rock, a patch of mud--but they're all instant (pre-) history when he comes upon a crocodilian "PUPPY!" and drags it home by its red-and-green-striped tail. "GOOD PUPPY!" he shouts, even when the new arrival chows down on the (stone) sofa and bed, eats the (stone) dinnerware as well as everyone's dinner, and makes "a boo boo" on the floor (" BAD POOPY!" chorus his less-than-enthusiastic parents). The puppy, however, does not share Trog's joy in its new home and mopes (when it's not eating). Despite Trog's best efforts to distract his buddy, the puppy cries. Why? Trog finally gets a clue when a humongous version of the puppy arrives to carry its unhappy offspring back to the swamp. No more tears! Has Trog learned a lesson? Not hardly, as he's last seen racing home with a grip on the tail of an annoyed, elephant-sized (wait for it) "KITTY!" Graves presents the tale in big, sequential panels of simply drawn cartoons, with dialogue in balloons and sound effects as outsized as Trog's not-exactly-domesticated companions. Trog is depicted with white skin, an impressive mop of blond hair, and a one-armed fur onesie. Not so different from having a "puppy" of the canine sort. Except for the stripes. And the impressive teeth. (Picture book. 6-8)

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August 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-Trog has everything that a cave boy could possibly want, from sticks to stones-even mud. But what he really desires more than anything is a puppy, which he finds one day out in the prehistoric fields. The "puppy" is of course a baby dinosaur, but that doesn't stop Trog from dragging the reluctant animal back to his cave. Trog tries to get his puppy to adapt to life with his family, but it clearly does not want to stay no matter how hard Trog tries to please it. The boy then must decide whether keeping his puppy at home is truly fair to his animal. The story does seem fairly familiar, but children will enjoy seeing Trog's reptilian puppy tear through his house, and the simple language makes this title a great choice for beginning readers. Graves's simple cartoon illustrations add to the lighthearted feel of the book, while his gritty outlines match the crudeness of the time period. VERDICT A fun addition to pair with Tammi Sauer and Bob Shea's Me Want Pet! for a great storytime.-Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2016
Preschool-G Trog may be a caveboy, but modern young readers will still be very familiar with his plight: all the toys in the world can't make up for the fact that what Trog wants more than anything is a puppy. Then one day, he finds one! Of course, the pastel-pencil illustrations belie this claimthe puppy is not a puppy at all, but a toothy, crocodile-esque creature that eats everything in sight, from its dinner bowl to the sofa (which is made out of rock, in true caveman fashion). Trog is ecstatic with his new friend despite all of this, and humorous, easy-to-follow panels, laid out graphic-novelstyle, document his efforts as he attempts to train, care for, and generally cheer up his increasingly miserable puppy. Eventually, the would-be pet finds its way back to its own home, and even Trog has to admit that's for the best. Forlorn, he goes back to his old toys. But don't despairis that a kitty behind that boulder?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)