Pup and Hound Play Copycats. (Kids Can Read). Susan Hood. Illustrated by Linda Hendry. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2007. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $5.95 (pbk.), $14.95 (hc.). ISBN 978-1-55453-145-5 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-55453-144-8 (hc.). Subject Heading: Dogs-Juvenile fiction. Preschool-grade 1 / Ages 4-6. Review by Shannon Ozirny. **** /4

While easy readers have been born and bred south of the border, writer/illustrator team Susan Hood and Linda Hendry have made another satisfying Canadian contribution to the genre with Pup and Hound Play Copycats.

     As usual, the endearingly enthusiastic Pup keeps ol' Hound on his toes. Rather than indulging in a malicious game of mimicry, Pup is genuinely committed to imitating his older, creakier canine mentor. While watching a real life game of "copycats" may be less than thrilling, Susan Hood's comfortably bouncy, rhyming text alleviates any potential boredom:

Hound ran to the corn maze

as fast as he could.

If that didn't work,

then nothing would!

Ah! Alone at last.

"Arf!" not so fast!

     While beginning readers may not be able to decode the text during a first reading (both long and short vowel sounds often appear within close proximity of one another), the "Pup and Hound" series is certainly engaging enough to encourage multiple readings and attempts at new words.

      Linda Hendry's illustrations continue to surprise and delight with their unexpected perspectives and familiar color scheme of greens, browns, reds, and oranges. While Pup and Hound are pictured as an undeniably cute dog duo, there is nothing saccharine or syrupy about their friendship. Hendry's pictures create an attractive farmyard world that fosters curiosity rather than sentimentality.

      I am happy to add this latest installment of "Pup and Hound" to my easy reader collection, and I encourage you to follow Pup's lead and copy me!

Highly Recommended.

Shannon Ozirny is a student in the Master of Children's Literature program at UBC. If she had to choose between Pup and Hound, she must admit that Pup is her favourite.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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