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  • The Smell of Wet Dog: And Other Dog Poems and Drawings

The Smell of Wet Dog: And Other Dog Poems and Drawings

Author
Barney Saltzberg
Publication Date
September 10, 2024
Genre / Grade Band
Fiction /  2nd − 3rd
Language
English
The Smell of Wet Dog: And Other Dog Poems and Drawings
Description

Equal parts heart-melting and stinky, The Smell of Wet Dog is a must-have illustrated poetry book for every young canine fan.

The smell of wet dog is not a good smell.
When a dog is wet it's easy to tell.
Imagine moose and skunk perfume.
An odiferous stench, a paint-peeling plume.

Beloved author and illustrator Barney Saltzberg offers up twenty-seven poems on the evergreen topic of human's best friend. Many have all the humor of a Shel Silverstein classic. Others are unexpectedly poignant, about separation anxiety or older dogs growing less spry. All are accompanied by Saltzberg's lively and loveable artwork.

Whether you are a dog lover, love a dog lover, or are simply dog-curious, The Smell of Wet Dog is for someone in your life. One thing's for sure: You'll leave this book inspired to write an ode to a furry friend of your own!

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Publication date
September 10, 2024
Genre
Fiction
Page Count
40
ISBN-13
9780823456390
Publisher
Neal Porter Books
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV039050 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings
JUV002070 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dogs
JUV070000 - Juvenile Fiction | Poetry (see also Stories in Verse)
Library of Congress categories
Dogs
Picture books
American poetry
Children's poetry, American
Humorous poetry
Humorous poetry, American
Animal poetry

Publishers Weekly

In this collection of 27 poems, Saltzberg (A Delicious Story) employs both canine and human perspectives to explore the age-old cross-species connection--a relationship characterized by a blend of fondness, bewilderment, and, as the evocative title suggests, effluvia. In "Who," a dog playfully queries, "Who sleeps on your bed/ like a huge armadillo?/ Who steals all the covers?/ Who drools on your pillow?" A few pages later, "Bed" offers a brief glimpse of a human counterpart's view of bedtime: "My dog is very happy/ snoozing on my bed./ Sometimes I am her pillow/ when she sleeps on my head." While some of the rhymes feel more perfunctory than polished, the poems emanate from a place of keen adoration and observation. And each of the accompanying digital illustrations is spot-on, with line drawings used for humans, whose skin tone reflects the white of the page, and textured, collage-like shapes portraying a panoply of very good dogs, all with eager, googly eyes. Ages 4-8. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Sept.)

Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Kirkus

Starred Review

Utterly delightful and beautifully designed

Barney Saltzberg
Barney Saltzberg is the author of more than 30 books for children, including Beautiful Oops!, My Book of Beautiful Oops!, Good Egg, and the best-selling Touch and Feel Kisses series. Additionally, he's recorded four albums of songs for children. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two dogs, and a pond full of fish. His books have won numerous awards, including NAPPA Gold Awards, and received Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews starred reviews. Most recently, Melinda Gates chose Beautiful Oops! as one of the top three books every child should read.
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