Always

by Alison McGhee, Pascal Lemaitre (Illustrator)

Overview

How deep is the bond between a child and a beloved pet? And how far will a pet go to protect his dear friend? To the ends of the earth . . . always. Alison McGhee, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Someday, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, gives voice to the love that knows no bounds in this gentle and poignant picture book about friendship, loyalty, and most of all, love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416974819
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	06/09/2009
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.38(w) x 7.86(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Alison McGhee is the New York Times bestselling author of Someday, as well as Dear Sister, What I Leave Behind, Pablo and Birdy, Where We Are, Maybe a Fox with Kathi Appelt, Firefly Hollow, Little Boy, So Many Days, Star Bright, A Very Brave Witch, Dear Brother, and the Bink and Gollie books. Her other children’s books include All Rivers Flow to the Sea, Countdown to Kindergarten, and Snap!. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Laguna Beach, California. You can visit her at AlisonMcGhee.com.

Pascal Lemaitre illustrated Toni and Slade Morrison’s bestselling Who’s Got Game? series, as well as many other books for children. He and his family divide their time between Brussels, Belgium, where he teaches illustration, and Brooklyn, New York. Visit him online at PascalLemaitre.com.

Editorial Reviews

The author of Someday pens another declaration of love-this time in frankly comic mode. A girl in overalls sits on the front porch of her little wooden house. "I am the keeper of the castle," her diminutive spotted pooch tells her, one paw on his chest, the other held dramatically out to the side. "And I will keep the castle safe." In successive spreads, Lemaître (Doctor Ted) shows the dog in roguish scenes of derring-do: fighting a duel with a furry enemy atop the peak of the roof ("I will tame the squirrels") and barking at a gang of mouse pirates whose ship's sail is a sock ("I will chase away evil"). The dog's statements grow ever more grandiose: "I will divert meteors," he says, standing on a chimney armed with a baseball bat. "Why, you ask?" the canine Cyrano asks in closing, as the girl scoops him up and cradles him in her hands. "Because you live here." Succinct, funny and, in its way, action-packed, this is written in the universal language of affection-only the stonyhearted could withstand its charms. Ages 4-8. (June)

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Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 1

In spare poetic prose, an endearing dog of indeterminate breed declares to its young owner: "I am the keeper of the castle. This castle. And I will keep the castle safe." The "castle" is a cottage on the beach, and the tiny pup goes on to enumerate a variety of tasks, including guarding against monsters (spiders), halting an avalanche (of toys in the cupboard), diverting meteors (standing on the rooftop ready with a baseball bat), stopping "savage beasts" (pirate mice), calming the sea, etc. All of these fanciful and heroic exploits are delightfully depicted. The dog ends up by saying: "Why, you ask? Do you mean to say you don't know? Because you live here." Rendered in pencil and then digitally colored, the artwork set against soft pastel pages provides a perfect match for the whimsical text, and together they portray the love between the two friends beautifully. This book is a lovely read for a child on an adult's lap, where the pictures of the dog's expressions and antics can be fully appreciated and savored.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA

School Library Journal

Just when it seems that there's nothing more to say about the enduring bond between a dog and its owner, an unassuming little pooch with brown spots steps up to the plate and adds his own first-person interpretation of that special attachment. The unnamed dog of indeterminate breed tells his story in simple, declarative sentences, announcing in no uncertain terms how he will defend his castle from intruders both big (an impending meteor) and small (invading mice). The text has a droll simplicity well suited to Lemaitre's understated pencil illustrations with pastel washes that show both domestic catastrophes and natural disasters being averted with aplomb by this tiny but immensely powerful dog. The story moves in a graceful arc, from smaller dangers to wind, lightning and the encroaching sea, all averted by the brave hero. He can deflect any sort of danger from this castle, motivated just because his owner (a little girl) lives there. Dog owners will love this, as will those who wish they had a dog just like this one. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews