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Summary
Summary
"This picture book has all the earmarks of a classic. Simont gets it all right." --The Horn Book (starred review)
Caldecott Medalist Marc Simont's heartwarming tale of a stray dog is told with tender simplicity and grace.
When a little dog appears at a family picnic, the girl and boy play with him all afternoon, and they name him Willy. At day's end they say good-bye. But the dog has won their hearts and stays on their minds.
The following Saturday the family returns to the picnic grounds to look for Willy, but they are not alone--the dog catcher is looking for him, too!
Awards for this book include: Caldecott Honor Book * New York Times Best Illustrated Book * ALA Notable Children's Book * Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book * Amazon.com Editors' Pick * School Library Journal Best Book * New York Public Library's "One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing"
Author Notes
Marc Simont was born in Paris, France on November 23, 1915. His parents were from the Catalonia region of Spain, and his childhood was spent in France, Spain, and the United States. He attended art school in Paris, at the Académie Julian, Académie Ranson, and the André Lhote School, and in New York, at the New York National Academy of Design.
During his lifetime, he illustrated nearly 100 books including The Philharmonic Gets Dressed by Karla Kuskin, In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord, How to Get to First Base: A Picture Book of Baseball by Red Smith, and The 13 Clocks by James Thurber. He also wrote and illustrated around ten of his own works including The Goose That Almost Got Cooked. He won a Caldecott Honor in 1950 for illustrating The Happy Day by Ruth Krauss, a Caldecott Medal in 1957 for illustrating A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry, and a Caldecott Honor in 2002 for illustrating his book The Stray Dog. He died on July 13, 2013 at the age of 97.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-A great tale for any kid who's dreamed of adopting a pet. Widely known and admired for his light and breezy illustrations, Simont continues his magic here with the story of an urban family on a weekend picnic in the country who chance upon a scruffy little stray dog that they call Willy. Returning to the city without him but with a whole lot of pet-longing, they while away the week with Willy on their minds. During their next outing, they spy the pup in the clutches of a dogcatcher and immediately resolve to give him a home by claiming him with a belt for a collar and a hair ribbon for a leash. Replete with lively city and country outdoor scenes and a glorious doggy bubble bath, all rendered in gauzy pastel watercolors, The Stray Dog is a showcase for Simont's considerable artistic talent. This good-humored addition is an amusing and predictable read with a happily-ever-after ending.-Mary Ann Carcich, Mattituck-Laurel Public Library, Mattituck, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this slender but engaging volume, Caldecott Medalist Simont (A Tree Is Nice) retells and illustrates a true story told to him by a friend. Picnicking in the country, a family spies a friendly dog. The brother and sister play with him and even name him, but their parents will not let them take Willy back to their city home. "He must belong to somebody," their mother explains, "and they would miss him." Returning to the same spot the following weekend, they once again see Willy, this time being chased by a dog warden who deems him a stray: "He has no collar. He has no leash." In the tale's most endearing scene, the boy removes his belt and the girl her hair ribbon, which they identify to the warden as Willy's collar and leash: "His name is Willy, and he belongs to us." Simont's art and narrative play off each other strategically, together imparting the tale's humor and tenderness. The final scenes are simple gems of understatement and wit. "They took Willy home" accompanies a full-bleed picture of the children energetically and messily bathing the dog; "And after that... they introduced him to the neighborhood, where he met some very interesting dogs" captions a busy scene of a park full of pooches. A charmer. Ages 4-8. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) This picture book has all the earmarks of a classic. The story is simple: two children play with a stray dog while on a family picnic in the country one Saturday. They don't take him home (he might belong to someone else, say the parents), but the whole family thinks about him all week, and the next Saturday they return to the same picnic spot. The children save Willy (as they have named the dog) from the dogcatcher and adopt him, to everyone's satisfaction and joy. Now there's a plot that satisfies: as straightforward and cleanly shaped as, say, Harry the Dirty Dog or Corduroy. The text is spare-appropriately so, as the pictures are surpassingly eloquent. Not merely a showcase for the artist's (considerable) prowess with watercolors, they say something. An impressionistic, bird's-eye double-page spread of the family car crossing a bridge is breathtaking; it also tells us, wordlessly, that this is a city-dwelling family heading to the country for their picnic. The pacing is particularly impressive: in one spread, for instance, Simont gets through a whole week of action. One sentence, four spot illustrations, and-page turn-we're on to the next Saturday, and back at the fateful picnic spot. Here, the tension builds further (with the arrival of Willy, in a blur, being chased by the dogcatcher) until it is released and transformed into happy resolution (with Willy rescued and ensconced in his new home, even being introduced at the park ""to some very interesting dogs""). Having the children save Willy through their own ingenuity, by donating the girl's hair ribbon as a leash and the boy's belt as a collar, is almost a requirement of a good children's book; having the little boy's now-beltless shorts keep falling down is extra, and delightful. Overarching shape, knowledge of audience, small details-Simont gets it all right. This Stray Dog should find a home on library shelves and in readers' hearts everywhere. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Really splendid artworksomething Caldecott Medallist Simont has been noted for in the past 60 yearssets this book skipping like a stone on water. The tale revolves around a family and the dog they meet during a picnic in the park. Hes a scruffy item, but game to share the familys lunch and join in the festivities. They named him Willy. When its time for them to go, the family has to leave the mutt: He must belong to somebody, explained the mother, and they would miss him. Simonts illustration is the car, headlights on, blurry image of parents in the front window, and two small arms reaching out the passenger side. On the opposite page sits the dog, rendered small and alone. All that next week their thoughts drift to Willydouble pages show each family member so deep in thought that the ball is dropped, the pot is boiling over, the coffee is pouring over the edge of the cup. When they return to the park the following weekend, they are delighted to see him again. Only this time Willy motors by them at warp speed, with the dog warden in hot pursuit. Once he is netted, the officer tells the children that Willy is a stray. He has no collar. He has no leash, says the warden. The boy volunteers his belt as a collar, the girl offers her hair ribbon as a leash, and a pet is born. The language here is simple, sweet, and expressive, as is the sure-handed art. Varying between double-paged full-bleeds to vignettes placed on white backgrounds, the illustrations are pure Simont, from the perfectly captured family scenes to Willy streaking by and then cowering under the net. The sentiments are equally direct and elegant, with generosity and affection mingling like waters in a bath. Willys a winner. (Picture book. 4-8)
Booklist Review
Ages 4^-8. With the tenderness found in his illustrations for Betsy Byars' My Brother, Ant (1996), Simont tells a picture-book story of a happy family and a stray. A scruffy little dog comes to join the family picnic. The children call him Willy and play with him all day. When it's time to go, their parents insist they must leave him. As they drive home in the dark toward the city's glittering lights, they think of Willy alone. Then a wry series of vignettes shows the mother, father, boy, and girl brooding and absentminded, each day of the week. On Saturday they arrive back at the picnic spot just in time to save Willy from the official dogcatcher. Simont's clear line-and-watercolor pictures are a delight. Everything is in the body language, from desolation to exuberance. At the end, there's no more empty white space, except around Willy's cozy bed, where he belongs. --Hazel Rochman