Three

by Stephen Michael King

Overview

A heartwarming story of a three-legged dog who follows his nose all over the city, out to the country, and into the arms of a new friend.

One, two, three...
One, two, three...
Every day was a skip
And a hop
For Three.

As a three-legged dog on his own in the big city, Three does pretty well for himself. His waggly tail keeps him fed, and he meets so many different legged creatures along the way. He's happy just the way he is, but sometimes he wonders what it'd be like to have a real home. That all changes when he wanders into the country and meets a quirky young girl and her welcoming family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823449231
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/13/2021
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Stephen Michael King has illustrated more than fifty books including Prudence Wants a Pet and has both written and illustrated several others, including Mutt Dog! and Leaf. He lives with his family on a small island off the coast of New South Wales, Australia.

Editorial Reviews

"That . . .  Three find[s] happiness comes as no surprise, but it warms the heart nonetheless."—The Wall Street Journal

"King's uncluttered and cheerful pencil and watercolor illustrations allow readers to confirm the identities of the animals under discussion. Expect lots of interaction—counting, adding, and even tracing Three's routes on two map-like spreads—when reading this aloud. One engaging story + three legs + six legs = a perfect 10." —The Horn Book

"what gives the story its propulsion is Three’s very doggy, glass-half-full attitude that a creature's number of legs is simply an interesting feature (an attitude that may come more easily to a quadruped than a biped). The loose-sketch–style illustrations filled with relaxed washes of color visually underscore Three’s positive approach to life. . . . An uplifting story with amiable verve."—Kirkus Reviews

"A small, city-dwelling stray with a sunny disposition is unruffled by his missing right foreleg . . . Loose-lined mixed-media drawings by King (Wandering Star), though, offer a wealth of city stores, sidewalk scenes, and map-like streets, through which Three’s path appears as a dotted red line as he follows a shift in circumstances." —Publishers Weekly

"A fabulous choice for all libraries to add enrichment in empathy and optimism."—School Library Journal


"The whimsy about leg numbers gives offbeat dimension to this story of a dog who finds an owner, and it also briskly frames Three’s leg count as being just one of many leg-number variants rather than a special condition. Scrawled line and watercolor art touched with pencil textures is breezy and upbeat"—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

2021-03-02
A three-legged dog goes on a journey of discovery.

Three the dog lives homeless in a city. But Three doesn’t consider his life wanting. The sun warms him; he feels clean when it rains on him; he is even thankful that he doesn’t have four legs, because the things with four legs he’s aware of (chairs) don’t move and get sat on by those with two legs (humans). This is another trait of Three’s: He pays great attention to the number of legs of all the creatures around him. He’s happy “six legs” (ants) have an underground home to go to and that an ”eight legs” (spider) is high out of reach of harm. One day, Three wanders far out of the city into the country, where he meets Fern, a little-girl two legs, who shares his independent spirit as well as her cookies and milk. Fern introduces Three to many other various-legged creatures in her garden—and to her single mother and little brother. The happy ending isn’t in doubt; what gives the story its propulsion is Three’s very doggy, glass-half-full attitude that a creature’s number of legs is simply an interesting feature (an attitude that may come more easily to a quadruped than a biped). The loose-sketch–style illustrations filled with relaxed washes of color visually underscore Three’s positive approach to life. Racially diverse humans are illustrated; Fern and her family present White.

An uplifting story with amiable verve. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews