A Dog Wearing Shoes
by Sangmi Ko
Schwartz & Wade (September 29, 2015)
Fiction * Dogs * Adoption
Audience: PreK to 3
IndieBound | WorldCat
About the book:
This sweet and hilarious doggy adoption tale features a pooch wearing—wait for it—bright yellow shoes.
When Mini finds a small moppet of a dog, with fluffy ears, no collar, and wearing yellow booties, she understandably wants to take it home. Despite Mom's insistence that the dog probably already has a family, Mini gets attached and is awfully proud of her new pal, who can sing, sit, and give both paws. But when the pup runs off one day at the park, Mini comes to understand how someone else out there might be missing the little guy too.
This story, by a debut author/illustrator, perfectly captures the undeniable bond between dog and owner.
My thoughts on the book:
As soon as I saw the cover of this book, I smiled. And the story doesn't disappoint either. It is a simple concept. A lost dog found by a child but the dog belongs to another.
However, despite the simple theme, Ko adds so many wonderful twists with her art. You can see it in the facial expressions above and the sparse use of color. And the dog has yellow shoes.
Despite what might seem as a story with a predictable outcome, Ko has fun with the journey making it fun for the reader as well and it nails the rollercoaster of emotions at finding a dog and wanting to keep the dog and then needing to find the owner of the dog. At the end of the book, the author includes information about "how to adopt a dog".
I look forward to future books by Ko. Pick up a copy of this book at your local indie bookstore or public library.
Day 8 of 30 Days of Gratitude:
Though I have never found a dog that I wanted to take home with me, I did find and adopt two adorable kittens who are now active and happy young cats at 18 months old.
I am thankful for the work of the Pasadena Humane Society for all they do to foster and adopt out hundreds of cats and dogs each year.