Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
Andersen Press/Trafalgar
Press
2011 / ISBN 9781842708804
Picture book (Ages 4 and up)
Amazon
Reviewed
by Bob Walch
“We don’t want to visit Grandpa!” whined the
young pups. “He’s so boring. All he ever does is talk
about the olden days. And he has dog breath. And he keeps scratching
himself. And he slurps when he eats.”
This is how this amusing picture book opens. The pups continue
to complain, but their mother insists that they visit Grandpa. When
they try to teach him to play new games, poor Grandpa can’t
keep up. “You can’t teach old dog new tricks,”
chorus the little pups. But, as they quickly discover, that’s
not necessarily so.
“Stand back! Watch this, you young whippersnappers. You
might learn something,” exclaims Grandpa. He then puts on
an unbelievable show and informs his grandpups that he was once
in the circus.
Suddenly, the pups are all ears and want to hear about their grandfather’s
exciting past adventures. And, of course, he’s more than delighted
to share
his past and perform a few tricks.
As the final page of this book comically illustrates – “There’s
life in the old dog yet!” A timely book that will bridge the
gap that sometimes exists between generations, “Old Dog”
will suggest to children and older folks alike that there is common
ground where they can meet and enjoy sharing information. The only
trick is to find it!
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