Horn Book Review
Crisp text and joyous art show that the bond between a dog and its person can defy assumptions as easily as it melts hearts. "This is Polly." A small poodle races through the park to unite with her owner, their matching ringlets and smiles validating what the rhyme asserts: "She belongs to Molly." Eric the dachshund belongs to Derek, and shaggy Minnie clearly belongs to the similarly coiffed saxophonist, Vinnie. This montage of happy look- and sound-alikes is interrupted in the narrative to introduce lonely pup Mr. Scruff at the dog rescue shelter ("For Mr. Scruff there's no one"), then cheerily resumes with Mick and Rick and Lawrence and Florence. The pattern takes another turn when a small boy named Jim visits the shelter and meets Mr. Scruff. Mr. Scruff is old and quite large, but Jim will not entertain his parents' alternative suggestion of a puppy. ("And though it doesn't rhyme, / it's all worked out just fine.") In another twist, a man named Mr. Gruff (who looks like Mr. Scruff) arrives at the shelter to find his perfect companion-a small puppy named Tim. James's warm ink and watercolor illustrations capture the personalities and funny details about the canines and humans along with their unbreakable connections. Steeped with meaning (and metaphor), this seemingly simple tale offers new discoveries and insights with every read. Julie Roach November/December 2019 p.69(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Sometimes not matching is just right.Molly, a brown-skinned child with curly hair, has Polly, a curly-haired brown poodle; and jowly dog Lawrence has jowly elderly white lady Florence; each pair is perfectly comfortable together, as well they might, being so similar in looks and name. But then there's poor Mr. Scruff, a large, unkempt dog at the dog rescue who has no one. That is, until Jim, a small child of color with interracial parents, picks out Mr. Scruff to be his dog. His parents have reservations; "He's so BIG, / and you're so small!" but Jim replies that Mr. Scruff "needs a home. / A place to call his very own. / / And that's enough for me / and Mr. Scruff," in the story's simple rhyming text. They hit it off. But now who should come into the dog rescue looking for a dog? Unkempt Mr. Gruff, a white man who seems like the perfect match for Mr. Scruff. But like Jim, Mr. Gruff isn't constrained by the familiar. He picks out a small, brown puppy for his companion, "the perfect / dog for him." Author/illustrator James does a marvelous job of creating a playful story about the serious idea of stepping outside the familiar in friendshipsan idea stupendously amplified with his light-filled watercolor-and-ink illustrations, showing a grand diversity of people in a bustling city setting.Diversity in friendships is brought to happy, lively life in this effervescent picture book. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
