Go, Dog. Go! P.D. Eastman

POINTS: 2 out of 10.

Bechdel: 0 point
Variety of characters: 0 points
Good story:  2 points
Discretionary ideological points: 0 points

 

This is a bit of a classic, but it’s not one I remember ever reading as a child, so I don’t get the nostalgia buzz from it. It’s okay for what it is, I suppose.

There are no names, and only one notably female dog with an exceptional interest in hats, so it can’t pass the Bechdel. It has a lot of different kind of dogs in it, but they all kinda fit a vaguely WASPish mold, so it doesn’t get diversity points either.

C LOVED it. He thought the “hat” business was utterly hilarious. (I think there’s something a bit odd and sexist going on there, maybe, but it’s hard to pinpoint. It’s a weird sort of courtship, where she has to have a hat he likes before they can go off together, and go off together they do at the end. I feel like this could do with deeper analysis than I have the time or inclination for right now, but there’s something going on here to do with the primping of women for the male gaze that doesn’t sit quite right with me.)

My seven year old though? Just thought it was weird and hilariously funny.

It’s a pretty neat new reader book. My kid is no longer a new reader, but he still found it pretty enjoyable. And I’ve given it my good story point despite my hesitations about the whole Thing With the Hat, just cos I think it’s still pretty fun to read.

 

Hairy Maclary: Scattercat – Lynley Dodd

More in the Series – Hairy Maclary
“More in the Series” scores the other books in a series where one (or more) of the books have made it into the 1001 Books list. Mostly because I’m a bit of a completionist. 

POINTS: 3 out of 10.

Bechdel: 0 points
Variety of characters: 0 points
Good story:  2 points
Discretionary ideological points: 1 point

I’ve said before that the genius of Lynley Dodd is how she makes it look easy. Her words and rhyme are so perfectly constructed that you find yourself thinking there is no other way they could go, and therefore this kind of verse must be easy. The text trips lightly across the page, seeming effortless.

As someone who occasionally writes this kind of thing, it is certainly not effortless. Dodd is kind of a genius. 🙂

This book doesn’t really pass any of our metrics – the characters are all dogs and cats so you can’t really talk about diversity. Some of the cats are female, but there’s no dialogue. It’s just a simple romp of Hairy Maclary chasing all the cats in the neighbourhood until he comes up against one who is scarier than he is.

It’s charming as hell, you guys, and if you still haven’t read a Hairy Maclary book (probably because you don’t live in New Zealand), they are definitely very worth getting your mitts on and reading with your kids. They’re somehow very Kiwi and still completely universal, which is quite a thing to pull off.

This is children’s lit at its best. 🙂 C loves them, they’re fun to read, and I marvel at the brilliantly constructed rhyme schemes. Good stuff.

Hairy Maclary’s Bone – Lynley Dodd

More in the Series – Hairy Maclary
“More in the Series” scores the other books in a series where one (or more) of the books have made it into the 1001 Books list. Mostly because I’m a bit of a completionist. 

POINTS: 3 out of 10.

Bechdel: 0 points
Variety of characters: 0 points
Good story:  2 points
Discretionary ideological points: 1 points

I have a real love for the Hairy Maclary books. I wasn’t born a Kiwi, but I’ve lived here for, good god NINE YEARS now, and so I feel a certain amount of pride that these incredibly simple, deft books came out of NZ. They really master the art of being local while still being internationally relevant (I can’t imagine anyone not developing a fondness for Hairy Maclary and his compatriots.

There are no female characters at all in this book, as far as we can tell, anyway. There is also no real sign of diversity (unless you count diversity of dog breeds, which, no, not really). But the issue is a bit kind of adjacent given that all the major characters are animals, and the humans that do exist do so in a Schultzesque “legs and arms only” manner.

In this tale, Hairy Maclary receives a bone form the butcher and takes it home. He is followed by all the neighbourhood dogs who have a mind to “share” it with him, but as he goes he manages to lose them one by one by choosing a route home that proves too narrow, high, athletic and so on for each of them.

Like all these books, the rhyme is deft and simple. Lynley Dodd has a knack for making it look easy, which is the sign of a true linguistic artist. As someone who has read a lot of kids books where the rhymes have been forced to conform, twisted and shoved into place, Dodd’s nimble, elegant words are a pleasure.

C loves these books as much as I do. They are always fun to read (and reread!) and the protagonist is extremely lovable. Not high scorers by our metrics, but well worth the read anyway. 🙂

Harry By the Sea – Gene Zion/Margaret Bloy Graham

More in the Series – Harry
“More in the Series” scores the other books in a series where one (or more) of the books have made it into the 1001 Books list. Mostly because I’m a bit of a completionist. 

POINTS: 3 out of 10.

Bechdel: 0 points
Variety of characters: 1 point
Good story:  2 points
Discretionary ideological points: 0 points.

This is much like the other Harry books. Harry is pretty much the only character with a name, so it can’t pass Bechdel, but even if we removed the “named” part of the test, it still wouldn’t.

Harry’s family is white, and so are all the minor characters with whom he actually interacts, but there are people of colour hanging out on the beach, so at least it’s not a totally white-washed world.

It’s a cute story. Harry gets hot because the sun is doing its sun thing, and goes in search of shade. He eventually ends up in the water covered in seaweed and everyone thinks he is some kind of sea-monster. He runs around causing mayhem trying to find his family. Chaos and shenanigans ensue. But all ends well. Huzzah!

It’s cute, and worth a read. C thought the whole seaweed covered sea-monster thing was totally hysterically funny. It was fun to read. Nothing super subversive or interesting going on, but a neat little story. Probably my favourite in the series so far, despite not having much to say about it.

 

Good Dog, Carl – Alexandra Day

POINTS: 3 out of 10.

Bechdel: 0 points
Variety of characters: 0 points
Good story:  2 points
Discretionary ideological points: 1 point

 

This is a really great little book, especially if you have a fondness for dogs. Carl is left to take care of the baby while the mother is out. He and the baby engage in a variety of adventures and shenanigans, including raiding the fridge for treats and sliding the baby down the laundry chute. Then Carl tidies everything up and drops the baby back in its cot just in time for Mom to come home to a clean and tidy house, oblivious to their adventures.

There is almost no text, since the bulk of the story involves a pre-verbal baby and a dog. I’m a fan, as you probably know by now, of books that require active engagement, and relying on pictures is a good way to do this. C and I had fun talking about what they were getting up to and what might come next.

Of course, that also makes a Bechdel pass impossible, and with only two humans, there wasn’t much room for any kind of variety of character. So in terms of metrics it doesn’t really do well. Nevertheless, I think this is an awesome little book. I love the simple relationship between the dog and the baby, and the fact that they’re sort of “in on it” together. It was a fun book to read with C. He really enjoyed it.

Good stuff.

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Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy – Lynley Dodd

POINTS: 4 out of 10.

Bechdel: 0 points
Variety of characters: 0 points
Good story:  2 points
Discretionary ideological points: 2 points.

This is a very Hairy Maclary friendly household. This is a book we’ve been reading for about as long as C has been alive (along with a couple of the pothers that I got cheap off Trademe at some point).

There is no dialogue (and there are no obviously female characters, though I suppose Muffin McLay might be a girl) so it can’t pass the Bechdel, and similarly, all the characters are animals, so there’s no way it can get the diversity point either.

Still, though, this is a little masterpiece. There is a good reason these books have become as popular as they have. Dodd has an ability to get every single word in her rhyming text absolutely perfect, and make it look easy – which, believe me, when you’ve read as many kids’ books as I have, is no easy feat.

The text trips along lightly like it’s being made up on the spot, and the illustrations are totally marvellous. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am a fan of animals in kids’ books that act like animals, and these do. She also manages to give them all very real personalities with just a few words and great pictures.

C loves this book, and can pretty much recite it right along with me. I have never gotten bored of reading it, which may be one of the best things that can ever be said for a book aimed at pre-reading-age kids. And if you don’t love doing the Scarface Claw “EEEEEEOWWWFFTZ!”, you have no soul. ;P

One of the greats for a reason.

Harry and the Lady Next Door – Gene Zion

More in the Series – Harry
“More in the Series” scores the other books in a series where one (or more) of the books have made it into the 1001 Books list. Mostly because I’m a bit of a completionist. 

POINTS: 1 out of 10.

Bechdel: 0 points
Variety of characters: 0 points
Good story:  1 point
Discretionary ideological points: 0 point.

This book is not a picture book like its predecessors. It’s a chapter book. Nevertheless, C and I read it in a single sitting, and he stayed mostly interested, which is a good sign.

However, by the metrics of this project, it fails on every count, I’m afraid. Despite the fact that the story is, in theory anyway, about “the lady next door” she gets no dialogue at all, and the story fails the Bechdel. The lady next door’s entire purpose in this book is to sing badly and be a foil for Harry’s shenanigans.

The diversity in the illustrations of the first book is not in evidence here – apparently only white people engage in community singing contests. And farming. And being in marching bands. And standing on the street.

I went back and read my reviews for the other two Harry books so far, and my response to this is much the same which is to say, I am fairly unmoved by them. They’re not awful. I mean, they’re entertaining enough. But there’s nothing particularly memorable about them either.

In this one Harry does not like the singing of the lady next door, and so he wanders about finding other things that make (to him) more pleasant sounds, like cows and frogs, and tries to hint to her that she should change how she sings by basically parking the things outside her window. (I know that when someone herds cows by my window, the message I get is “sing more like a cow”…)

Then there is a local singing contest, which, due to a series of events, she wins, and off she goes to “study music in a far-off country”, thus freeing Harry from her singing for a long time! Huzzah! Or something.

Plot wise, it’s holey, and while I think that Harry’s lack of appreciation for her singing is meant to be seen as naivete or something like it, I found myself not very sympathetic to his plight. Get over it hound.

I have no doubt that there are people who love these books, but they won’t be in our rotation.

Madeline’s Rescue – Ludwig Bemelmans

More in the Series – Madeline
“More in the Series” scores the other books in a series where one (or more) of the books have made it into the 1001 Books list. Mostly because I’m a bit of a completionist. 

POINTS: 3 out of 10.

Bechdel: 1 point
Variety of characters: 0 points
Good story:  2 points.
Discretionary ideological points: 0 points.

I can’t get over how badly mistitled this book is. Madeline falls in the Seine and is rescued by a dog, who then becomes part of the family in “the old house in Paris”. But the bulk of the story is about the dog – her adoption, how the children fight over her attention, how the trustees in the school kick her out and how they all go looking for her afterwards to bring her back. The book is named for the rescue, but the rescue is over by the fifth spread, and most of the story focusses on the dog.

Apart from that little quibble, though, the book is as charming as the other Madeline books. I am definitely a fan of these stories. It passes Bechdel as Madeline and Miss Clavel have dialogue between them. There’s no real diversity at all, apart from the fact that the bulk of the characters (including the dog) are female.

I guess there’s a little bit of ideological stuff going on about how the trustees are wrong about the dog, and how their distaste for her seems to be snobbery. Their spokesman (Lord Cucuface!!) says she should leave because: “it’s a perfect disgrace for young ladies to embrace this creature of uncertain race”. Which, to me, reads like a breeding thing – in other words, Lord Cucuface (oh my, that name) is just being a big snob.

I am amused by how after they leave the girls and Miss Clavel go in search of Genevieve (the dog) and there is no question that Miss Clavel is on their side. She cannot stand up to The Money, but she has no qualms subverting their orders along with the children. I’m not sure what they’re going to do the following year when they have not one dog, but a whole pack – given that in the end Genevieve has puppies. But I suppose that’s next year’s problem. 😉

 

No Roses for Harry! – Gene Zion

More in the Series – Harry
“More in the Series” scores the other books in a series where one (or more) of the books have made it into the 1001 Books list. Mostly because I’m a bit of a completionist. 

POINTS: 1 out of 10.

Bechdel: 0 points
Variety of characters: 0 points
Good story:  1 point.
Discretionary ideological points: 0 points.

This Harry book scores lower that the original, mostly because in the original book, the general illustrations suggested that there were some people in Harry’s town who weren’t middle class white folk, but in this one, that diversity is gone. There’s no Bechdel pass, everyone is nicely ensconsed in their pre-ordained gender roles and there’s not a person of colour to be seen.

The story is okay. Harry is given a gift he doesn’t much like, and manages to ‘lose’ it to a bird. When granny who knitted him said gift comes to visit Harry feels very bad about ‘losing’ the present, but they find out that the bird has turned it into a nest which is much more appreciated, and Harry gets a new sweater in a pattern more to his taste.

I have mixed feelings about this. C and I had a conversation about gifts and how sometimes you might get something you don’t like that much, but how the correct response to that is rather to appreciate the effort and love in the gift that be a dick and ‘lose’ it. C seemed very adamantly on the side of being polite, which pleases me.

I dunno. It was okay, I guess. I am certainly not sold on these books. There just really isn’t that much going on, and in a world where there are a plethora of cute “from the point of view of the dog” books, I don’t think they really measure up. C liked it, and it was okay – I don’t have anything too horrid to say about it, but I was underwhelmed.

It’s no Hairy Maclary, that’s for sure.

Harry the Dirty Dog -Gene Zion

POINTS: 3 out of 10.

Bechdel:  0 points
Variety of characters: 1 point
Good story: 2 points
Discretionary ideological points: 0 points

I have no strong feelings about this book. The only named character is Harry, so it cannot pass Bechdel. I gave it a point for diversity just because the illustrations show people in all the beautiful shades they can have, just, like goin’ about their business as if it’s no big deal. This shouldn’t be notable, but it is. Harry’s own family is white and very ‘default’- one mom, one dad, one boy, one girl. But hey, we have to start somewhere right?

The story is cute enough, I guess. Harry does not want to have a bath so he hides the scrub brush in the garden and runs away. Over the course of his adventure he gets dirty, then he misses his family and home and he returns. But oh no! they don’t recognise him because of all the dirt! (This stretched my credulity, honestly. I have had many dogs in my lifetime, several of whom were prone to getting muddy, and that has never ever led me to not recognise them. But hey. It’s a kids’ book.) Harry jumps in the bath. The family bath him (which leads me to think that maybe they were trolling him with that whole “we don’t know who you are” thing), and once all the dirt is washed off they realise it’s him and live happily ever after.

It’s mildly entertaining. I suppose if there’s a ‘message’ it’s that baths are good. I’m certainly not of the opinion that every book should have a message. There’s no real ideological base to this story I can point to. C thought it was funny. I thought it was okay. I don’t dislike it, but it probably isn’t going to become a favourite of ours.

Simple, solid kid storytelling, nothing spectacular to write home about.