Circle Dogs
Ah, essence of dog. You wouldn't want to bottle it, but Kevin Henkes, creator ofLilly's Purple Plastic Purseand illustrator Dan Yaccarino have transformed the concept into an exquisite read-aloud book for dog-loving preschoolers. We meet the two circle dogs, who live in a big, square house, early in the morning when they first wake up. They proceed to roust everyone, distribute good-morning kisses, run in the yard, and dig circle holes. "Circle dogs like circle snacks--crunch, crunch, crunch--right from your hand. They like to play. / They like to roll. / They like to eat. / And then they like to sleep and sleep and sleep and sleep." Yaccarino, creator ofZoom, Zoom, Zoom, I'm Off to the Moon,An Octopus Followed Me Home, andGood Night, Mr. Night,  shines in this 1950s-style, boldly graphic, shape-saturated tribute to the dachshund, or as Henkes sees it, "everydog." Preschoolers will revel in  thesupreme dogginessof it all--the circling, snapping, sniffing, gulping, smacking, and face-licking--and adults will be charmed by how artfully and elegantly Henkes and Yaccarino capture the canineje ne sais quoiin this fresh, original bedtime book. Arf! (Click to see asample  spread. Text &copy; 1998 by Kevin Henkes. Illustrations &copy; 1998 by Dan Yaccarino. With permission of Greenwillow Books.) (Ages 2 to 5)--Karin Snelson--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.