"THE BULLDOG
Head like a melon.
Face of a felon.
The only thing
not sagging
is your loyalty.
... Bulldogs are known not only
for their loyalty, but also for their
enthusiastic tooting. Clothespin,
anyone?"
David Elliott is a poet and author whose work I greatly admire. In his new book, he presents poetry that describes 16 mostly recognizable breeds, plus The Mutt. To say the poetry is entertaining is an understatement: rather, it is fascinating and often funny. Each double spread introduces the new breed with a bold title, a revealing poem concerning its personality, and a follow-up informative comment about their history and characteristics,
The illustrations are quite splendid! Each is worthy of careful observation and conversation. The bulldogs (Charles Santoso) piled on their sleeping mother are spot-on reminders of my granddogs. The border collie (Flavia Z. Drago) is obviously delighted to be smack in the middle of a celebratory flock of sheep. The Komondor (Cindy Derby) hides its fierce nature inside a coat of unruly cords. The mutt (Oge Mora) certainly deserves mention for its mix of many wonderful attributes.
A concluding section named Puppy Love(ers) shows the author with his pup, Quiggy; followed by photos of each of the artists with a dog that may or may not be theirs. An accompanying description of each provides insight.
These artists add their formidable talents to make this book something even more special for all readers: Elaine Bay, Cátia Chien, Matthew Cordell, Cindy Derby, Flavia Z. Drago, Leo Espinosa, Raissa Figueroa, Julie Flett, Ebony Glenn, Rebecca Green, Emily Hughes, Oge Mora, Kenard Pak, Antoinette Portis, Raúl the Third, Sergio Ruzzier, Charles Santoso, and David Ezra Stein.
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