Great Dog

by Davide Cali, Miguel Tanco (Illustrator)

Overview

The age-old question of "what will I be when I grow up" gets a hilarious twist in this stylish and clever story.

A pup and his father contemplate his grand future while looking at other Great Dogs in their family. Will he be a marathon runner like Uncle Tibor, the fastest dog in the family? Will he be an astronaut like Aunt Yuki, who reached for the stars? Or maybe a teacher like Uncle Scooter, respected by all?

No matter what, says his father, he will be a GREAT dog!

Davide Cali's tongue-in-check writing and Miguel Tanco's unique and funny illustrations bring these great dogs to life and will have readers giggling from start to finish. With gatefolds that show the real story behind the characters and a surprise twist at the end, Great Dog is a winner for kids and parents alike!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101919170
Publisher:	Tundra
Publication date:	05/29/2018
Pages:	46
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

DAVIDE CALI began his career in 1994 as a cartoon writer for the Italian magazine Linus. He began writing children's books in 2000, and since then he has published over one hundred books for children, including Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs and Cinderella and the Furry Slippers. Cali has won a Bologna Ragazzi Special Award, the Switzerland Enfantaisies Prize, the Baobob Prize, the Belgium Libbylit Award and France's SNCF award. His books have been published in France, Italy, Austria, the United States and Canada, and translations of his books have been published in eighteen countries. Davide lives in Genoa, Italy.

Award-winning artist MIGUEL TANCO is a children's book author and illustrator. He teaches illustration and organizes creative workshops for kids in Spain, where he was born and raised, and in Italy. He has published over forty children's books including You and Me, Me and You; Les Farfelus; and The Story of Cyrano de Bergerac. He lives in Milan with his wife Federica and their two great sons, Pablo and Javier.

Editorial Reviews

One of Book Riot’s Top 100 Children’s Books of 2018

PRAISE FOR Great Dog:

"A playful story about familial pride and unconditional love." --Kirkus Reviews

"Best shared one-on-one so readers can pore over the detailed illustrations. Hand this to anyone seeking a story about families or ‘Great Dogs.’" --School Library Journal

"The book’s message of encouraging support regardless of a child’s background, identity, or future is lovingly presented with a subtle sense of humor." --Booklist

"Great Dog purrfectly conveys familial themes of love and acceptance. . . . Highly recommended." --CM Magazine

From the Publisher

05/01/2018
PreS-Gr 1—In a bright and expansive house, father and son canines proceed down a hallway lined with family portraits and discuss how the young pup will absolutely one day be a Great Dog. The father heaps praise on each relative's greatness but hidden in the gatefolds beneath each portrait are comical and slightly more realistic depictions of each ancestor's great deeds. Undoubtedly though, they were all Great Dogs. Intricate watercolor illustrations create detail and texture in each scene and the endpapers are filled with additional portraits of other "Great" characters. The dialogue between the father and son provides an opportunity for caregivers to discuss with children what they want to be when they grow up. Though mostly silly at the start, a lovely twist at the end lends weight to the father's words of affirmation and encouragement for his son. VERDICT Best shared one-on-one so readers can pore over the detailed illustrations. Hand this to anyone seeking a story about families or "Great Dogs."—Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library

School Library Journal

2018-03-18
A playful story about familial pride and unconditional love.An anthropomorphic dog in a tweed sports coat tells his child, who wears a sweater and a cap, about family members as they look at a family portrait gallery. Each spread with a portrait has the father recounting a great accomplishment on a turquoise-backgrounded verso. Then the recto opens as a gatefold to reveal a picture of the relative that humorously undermines that account. For example, a uniformed bulldog was "the pride of the police," but the underlying gatefold illustration reveals the police dog to be oblivious to three black-clad robber dogs absconding with their loot behind him. The child, presumably unaware of those contradictory backstories, interjects to ask, "What about me?" The father responds with the titular phrase: "You will be a GREAT dog!" In the final exchange, however, the father amends his statement in a concluding gatefold that finds the cap falling off to reveal cat ears. "You will be a great dog, a magnificent dog… / Or a great CAT. It's up to you!" The message of unconditional love reveals the father as a great dad, but readers may wonder why the child was concealing their feline self until this moment. The illustrations feature a strong sense of line and pattern, with hints of turquoise, gold, and brown popping against white backgrounds.Playful design contributes to the success of this warmhearted book. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews

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