Madlenka's Dog - Hardcover

Peter Sis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374346992 ISBN 13: 9780374346997

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2002

Synopsis

Another delightful romp around Madlenka's city block

Madlenka wants a dog! She doesn't really care what kind, so long as it's a dog that she can put on a leash and walk around the block. But her mother and father say NO! What is Madlenka to do? It just takes some imagination . . . Madlenka's friends on the block all play along, remembering the dogs of their childhood, and in the end it seems quite possible that there's more to Madlenka's dog than we can see. With his considerable charm, Peter Sís uses lift-up flaps and peek-through windows to bring us into Madlenka's magical world where play and fantasy make wishes come true.

Madlenka's Dog is a 2002 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and a 2003 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year. This title has Common Core connections.

About this title

Review:

Precocious little Madlenka is off again, around the world and back through time, without ever straying a block from her Manhattan home. This time, Madlenka wants a dog so badly that she gets her wish--or does she? None of her neighbors can seem to agree on just what sort of dog she's walking. (Never mind that Madlenka's red leash doesn't seem to be holding any sort of dog at all.)

We're once again on a trip through Madlenka's imagination, inspired by the fond canine remembrances of her neighbors and gently illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Peter Sís. "'Look, everyone. I'm walking my dog.' 'Oh, he's white and short,' says Mr. McGregor. 'No, he's big and woolly,' says Mr. Eduardo. Each sidewalk acquaintance shares their memories of dogs past with clever little flaps. A flip-up drum (McGregor plays for the FDNY Pipes and Drums) shows wee McGregor with his West Highland white terrier; Eduardo's bicycle produce cart pops open to a reveal a scene from the Andes, with Eduardito dwarfed by a towering Newfoundland.

Despite the very simple text, Madlenka's wild imaginings should hold up to enthusiastic rereading, especially as she travels into the fantastic past with her friend Cleopatra (who, as it happens, has an imaginary horse). But that's not surprising, given the involving nature of Madlenka's previous journey, the last time that Sís skillfully showed us the happy and peculiar place of a little girl "in the universe, on a planet, on a continent, in a country, in a city, in a house on a block where"--at least this time around--"everyone is walking a dog." (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

About the Author:

Peter Sís has written and illustrated many award-winning books for children, including Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei and Tibet Through the Red Box, both Caldecott Honor Books. He lives in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0374346992
• ISBN 13: 9780374346997
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40