Beast in Show

by Anna Staniszewski, Joanie Stone (Illustrator)

Overview

A little girl and her dog enter a very unusual dog show in Beast in Show, an irresistible picture book full of compassion and surprises from author Anna Staniszewski, featuring illustrations by Joanie Stone.

When Julia hears about the dog show, she is thrilled. Huxley might seem like an ordinary dog, but Julia knows he is a winner. Huxley can run. He can jump. He can even do a triple back flip!

But the competition is fierce, and soon other kids are stealing the spotlight with their fire-breathing, levitating, extraterrestrial pets. What will it take to win Best in Show?

This heartfelt, hilarious picture book celebrates the value of losing gracefully as well as the bond between children and their loving pets—from robot cats to glittery dragons, glowing aliens, handsome unicorns, and precious dogs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627791267
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	02/09/2021
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	215,636
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Anna Staniszewski is the author of teen books such as My Very UnFairy Tale Life and The Dirt Diary. She lives near Boston with her robo-husband and their dogbot, Emma.

Joanie Stone is the illustrator of Beast in Show by Anna Staniszewski, Me and the Sky by Beverly Bass, as well as Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls' Rights by Malala Yousafzai. She lives in Nokesville, Virginia.

Editorial Reviews

2020-10-27
Julia discovers that there’s more than one way to be a winner when she enters her beloved dog, Huxley, in a show.

What kind of a show? “Just a totally normal dog show,” says a judge—but considering that Huxley is up, in the illustrations anyway, against competitors like a dragon, a winged unicorn, and a floating green teddy bear with antennae, will Huxley get much attention? Backflips and barking on command don’t make much of an impression. Nor do Julia’s frantic attempts to up her outgoing pooch’s game with ribbons and other froufrou. But when the front-running unicorn takes a fall in the climactic round, it’s Huxley’s encouraging nose lick that gets him back on his hooves and on to the finish. In the end, even though the “Best In Show” wreath goes to the unicorn, it’s the helpful hound who brings the cheering audience to its feet and earns a ride on the grateful winner’s back. Stone depicts Julia and her dad with light-brown skin amid racially diverse background groups of owners and onlookers. As in her narrative Staniszewski never lets on that the competitors are other than canine, there’s a droll disconnect between the text and the pictures that even very young readers will enjoy. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 70% of actual size.)

A lick on the nose to all who lend a helping paw. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews