Insta Review: Little Dog, Lost, by Marion Dane Bauer

Insta Review gives you a new book recommendation in under a minute. Go ahead, time it!

View this post on Instagram

Little Dog Lost has a solid recipe – a plot involving a dog separated from its owner, multiple points of view for added interest, interesting storytelling format, major cute factor. But by the end, I just wasn’t sure who this book was really written for. The cartoon illustrations, reminiscent of Biscuit early readers, will likely drive any middle grade readers away. But the verse format could be too difficult for young readers to understand. I'll be blunt – it was like a watered-down version of Sharon Creech’s Love that Dog, except without the emotional attachment that makes dog stories so captivating. (On the other side of that argument, readers that are too sensitive to handle the emotion of the classic animal heavy-hitters but are still looking for pet stories won't find any heartbreak in Little Dog, so there's that.) Mid-late elementary readers ready to tackle a story in verse might enjoy if you can sell them on the young cover. Sorry, Little Dog, no treats for you.

A post shared by Ms. Fitz (she/her) (@fitzbetweentheshelves) on Jan 7, 2017 at 8:55am PST