Zig Zag Zeffy

Only on the last page of Zig Zag Zeffy do readers learn that Zeffy, the dog featured in the book, is a puggle. Thanks to Google, I have now learned that a puggle is “a crossbreed between pugs and beagles”. Evidently, the puggle, the result of mating a male pug with a female beagle, is a relatively new type of dog, one that was first bred back in the 1990s. The article goes on to describe puggles as charming, stubborn, playful, friendly and outgoing with both people and other animals, and, as well, they love to cuddle, all characteristics amply on display by the little dog in Zig Zag Zeffy.

The book begins with Zeffy play attacking his five puppy siblings, but their fun is interrupted by a pair of hands picking Zeffy up and a voice saying, “This is the one, I LOVE this one.” Young readers then see Zeffy in a car and on his way to his new home. There, missing his brothers, Zeffy is initially scared, but, tempted by toys and displays of love by his new human-Mom, he gradually settles in. All those who have had young dogs in their homes will recognize the typical puppy behaviors exhibited by Zeffy, such as his mouthing bites, chewing on furniture and clothing, chasing cats, and, of course, “pee[ing] on the floor”. However, his “Hu-Mom” saw to it that “[h]e went to school to learn some skills”. The “zig” and “zag” in the title comes from Zeffy’s behaviour when his Hu-Mom takes him for walks, and then he gets to run “Back and forth, this way and that./ZIGGING and ZAGGING then lying down FLAT.”

Miller’s text, told in the third person, takes the form of rhyming couplets while Gales’ artwork is rendered realistically and is full of action. A closing page includes “About the Author” and “About the Illustrator” notes, with the former confirming that the storyline has its roots in the author’s actual experiences with Zeffy. Zeffy also gets his own brief “About Zeffy” note that informs readers he was born in 2011, but it does not go into explaining his parentage.

Books about pets, especially puppies and kittens, are always appealing to young children, and, while Miller’s use of the third person and having an adult rather than a child as Zeffy’s Hu-Mom somewhat distances the reader from the subject matter, Zig Zag Zeffy will still find an audience among the preschool crowd.