My Friend Lucky: Ready-to-Read Pre-Level 1

by David Milgrim, David Milgrim (Illustrator)

Overview

Find a new friend in Lucky with this Pre-Level 1 Ready-to-Read version of the beloved “gentle concept book about opposites” (School Library Journal).

There is nobody better than a best friend, especially if it is a dog named Lucky! Whether he is quiet (sometimes) or loud (usually), giving kisses or getting kissed, Lucky is always up (or down) to something.

Come along with a boy and his best friend as they share some special moments in this delightful Ready-to-Read filled with love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481489010
Publisher:	Simon Spotlight
Publication date:	05/09/2017
Series:	Ready-to-Read
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

David Milgrim is the author and illustrator of more than thirty-five books, including the New York Times bestseller Goodnight iPad and the Adventures of Otto series. His books Go, Otto, Go! and See Pip Flap were each named a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife. Visit him at DavidMilgrim.com.

David Milgrim is the author and illustrator of more than thirty-five books, including the New York Times bestseller Goodnight iPad and the Adventures of Otto series. His books Go, Otto, Go! and See Pip Flap were each named a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife. Visit him at DavidMilgrim.com.

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
From the beloved author of such childhood gems as Why Benny Barks and Cows Can't Fly comes a love story about a dog and little boy. My Friend Lucky provides a world of contrasts and opposites for young readers as they are introduced to some of Lucky the dog's entertaining (and often contrary) behaviors. Lucky is, at turns, slow and fast, wet and dry, quiet and loud, cold and warm. Lucky gives love, then gets it, feels happy, then sad, and while he may be here on one page, on the next he's suddenly there. When standing beside an inchworm, Lucky feels big, but when he's standing next to a cow, he soon becomes small. At one point Lucky manages to get lost, but then he is found, and the tables are turned yet again when Lucky cheerfully chases a rabbit, only to have the rabbit -- and several of its friends -- start chasing Lucky.

Milgrim's humorous watercolor illustrations are simple, spare, and framed by plenty of white space. Yet they do the bulk of the work by not only adding a sense of wonder and whimsy to the work but also by using the subtlest of details to convey a ton of information. On the page where Lucky is hungry, the tail-wagging dog is smiling at a piece of pie on a table. On the next page, the text reads, "Lucky's full," and the dog is nowhere to be seen. But his owner is, and he's staring curiously at a plate that is now empty except for a few remaining crumbs. Thought-provoking and warmhearted, My Friend Lucky is bound to become a favorite among the youngest reading crowd. (Beth Amos)

bn.com

A deceptively simple exploration of opposites, illustrated by the relationship between a boy and his dog, Lucky. Milgrim's (Patrick's Dinosaurs on the Internet, 1999, etc.) cartoony illustrations depict a Charlie Brown-like round-headed boy and his genial brown dog as they demonstrate a series of opposites on succeeding double-page spreads. "Lucky gives / Lucky gets [kisses]" "Lucky's sad / Lucky's happy." The two characters are surrounded by white space, with only the most necessary contextualizing details added. In the "Lucky's hungry" picture, for instance, the viewer sees a table with a piece of cake and an excited Lucky; but when "Lucky's full," the dog is no longer to be seen, and the boy is left holding a carton of milk, his cake reduced to six crumbs. The "Lucky's loud / Lucky's quiet" spread features two nearly identical pictures of the boy doing his homework and Lucky barking (the dog's mouth is open and little "bark" lines emerge, indicating noise)-the only difference is that in the "quiet" illustration, the boy is wearing earmuffs. Definitely not an introductory concept book, this offering clearly depends on a fairly sophisticated ability to decode the conventions of illustration. It is, however, a splendid primer in the art of visual irony, and its sly humor will have young readers chortling. It is also, of course, a love story; that the dog is not the only member of the pair who is lucky is amply illustrated on the endpapers, which reveal Lucky and his friend waking up together and then settling down for sleep in a happy heap on the boy's bed. A winner, and not just for dog lovers. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews