Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | EASY MON | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | EASY MON | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Cookie the dog doesn't walk like other dogs. She walks on her hind legs, and what a sight that is! Cookie's walking catches the attention of a show producer, who turns her into a star. And with fame comes benefits: bacon, candy, a fanny pack, her own mini-fridge... But the more Cookie walks, the more people expect from her. Cookie's old friend Kevin keeps reminding her about how great her regular life used to be. And Cookie's legs are getting tired. Will Cookie keep walking for fame and fortune? Or will she stand down and get her life back?
Reviews (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The road to fame is paved with snacks for a dog who eschews convention in Monroe's wryly witty story about the virtues of keeping one's feet on the ground. When Cookie discovers how handy it is to walk on her hind legs, she's on a fast track to the big time: "Well, I can reach the candy dish now... which is great," she tells her supportive but skeptical pal Kevin. A daring walk across a flaming board placed over a kiddie pool filled with snapping turtles is just the beginning: the circus and a Hollywood producer come calling, and Cookie is soon starring in her own TV show. But when an exhausted Cookie receives a proposal to walk around the world, she must make a tough decision. Monroe (the Monkey with a Tool Belt books) explores the pitfalls of fame through deadpan narration and celebrity stereotypes, all captured in tidy comics-style panels. Cookie's relationship with Kevin plays out in several tender exchanges, even as the stalwart dog is unceremoniously shoved out of the way by Cookie's "people." Ages 4-8. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
When opportunistic humans learn that dog Cookie can walk on her hind legs, they make her a star. When things get out of control, Cookie takes a friend's advice: "stand down." The send-up of celebrity culture is cute, and the knackered plot gets a lift from the multifarious cartoon illustrations including a step-by-step diagram showing Cookie lowering to all fours. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Oh, fame. How it messes with one's head. In this case, the head belongs to a dog named Cookie. Cookie can expertly walk on her hind legs, which people think is cute. So cute, in fact, that Cookie is booked for a dog show where she walks on a ball across a flaming board over a kiddie pool. This gets her a circus gig and then a TV show. Whenever her friend Kevin comes to visit, Cookie says she is happy. She likes the treats and the fanny pack that come with the job. But as the pressure on her grows, she wavers. And her legs hurt. Can she give it all up? Some of the humor might go past the intended audience (like the way the bigwigs are always, literally, kicking Kevin out the way), but there's so much for them to look at and like, particularly the funny, deadpan moments that occur throughout. Executed in ink and wash, the cartoonish pictures take up full pages, some sprinkled with vignettes, others in panels. This is for more than one reading all the better to get the message across.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
(Picture book; ages 4 to 8) HOW odd, I sometimes think, that so many picture books aimed at our youngest readers emphasize the same theme. "You are special," they inform us in voices loud and soft. "Celebrate your individuality, your uniqueness, your YOUNESS!" The message is a fine one, I suppose, but I can't help wondering if the constant refrain contains a wee bit of adult projection. After all, the problem among young children is rarely that of mindless conformity. As all parents know, toddlers and early readers do not conform nearly enough, certainly not at mealtime. Or bath time. Or, really, any time. These youngest readers could use, perhaps, a little less skipping to their own beat and a little more marching in lock step to mine. But that is probably just the scold in me, the nagging father who has spent the last nine years asking his lovely daughter to please eat her pasta with a fork instead of creating cat's cradles out of it with her fingers. The child in me, however, wants to be told I am special, and that my individuality is something to be celebrated, if not exalted. Three new picture books aim to do just that. The charming "Snippet the Early Riser," by Bethanie Deeney Murguia ("Buglette the Messy Sleeper"), tackles that most annoying of childhood traits, the maddening habit of waking with the sun and insisting that all others in the household do so as well. Murguia's titular hero is a snail with a patchwork shell who, like all snails, enjoys playing soccer, drawing on the sidewalk and taking piggyback rides. Unlike the other snails in his family, however, Snippet is quick out of bed in the morning and raring to go - if only his parents and sibling would wake up, too! With the assistance of several insect friends, he tries everything in his power to rouse them from their shells until he stumbles on an idea guaranteed to awaken even the sleepiest gastropod. The family, once awake, is far more accommodating to Snippet than I would be to my children if they chewed a hole through my mattress and dropped me from a great height But I am not a snail, and perhaps Snippet's parents are possessed of a better temperament than my own. Murguia's cheerful watercolors animate her book with quiet whimsy, making it a just-right story for rambunctious youngsters. Parents, however, be warned: If your own energetic snails take Snippet too much to heart, you may expect an even earlier-than-expected wake-up call. Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld (the pair behind "Duck! Rabbit! ," "It's Not Fair!" and others) transpose the notion of individuality onto the unlikely canvas of grammar. Their clever "Exclamation Mark" is set on a sheet of lined composition paper, the book's only background. On these simple, lined pages, a lone exclamation mark stands out among his blander cousins, periods one and all, aligned in a long row of contented sameness. Poor Exclamation Mark, with the towering black slash above his head, does not know how to fit into this familial array. After attempting, and failing, to do so, he grows "confused, flummoxed and deflated." Just when Exclamation Mark has tied a bindle to his staff and is ready to run away from it all, he meets another grammatical oddity, a question mark, who naturally has a lot of questions for the bemused hero. Eventually, all those annoying inquiries ("When's your birthday? ... Do you know what makes gravity?") lead Exclamation Mark to figure out his true nature for the first time. This slight story is an amusing and effective exploration of the "ugly duckling" premise. Whether kids will be enthralled with a tale of anthropomorphic punctuation markings I cannot say, but the energetic graphic illustrations kept me smiling and turning the pages. "Cookie, the Walker" flips the theme of individuality on its head. Chris Monroe ("Big Little Brother") writes and illustrates this story of a dog who has taught herself to walk upright, a skill that allows Cookie to "reach the candy dish," "pull damp towels off the towel racks" and perform other assorted people-pleasing tricks. Fame and fortune swiftly follow. Soon, Cookie becomes a popular circus act and, eventually, a top-rated television star. But along with adoration and ample snacks come constant demands on her time, leaving her homesick and worn down. What to do? Continue walking upright or return to a more traditional canine posture? Her decision, to "stand down," returns Cookie to her best pal Kevin, but at the cost of the gift that made her special. Told in a bright and fun comic-book style with plenty of illustrations that will hold readers' interest upon repeated viewings, "Cookie, the Walker" is the rare picture book that actually questions the value of standing out. After putting it down, though, I couldn't help feeling a twinge of sympathy for poor Cookie, reduced to standing upright only when nobody else is around to see. Bummer. Kids being kids, they certainly do not need the permission of picture books to let their mini-freak flags fly. They will do so whether we wish them to or not, and I suppose, on balance, that is a good thing. Except in the case of my daughter, who either needs to start using her fork or needs to figure out how to get tomato sauce out of the upholstery. Michael Ian Black is the author, most recently, of "You're Not Doing It Right," a memoir, and "I'm Bored," a picture book.
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Cookie is no ordinary dog. She discovers that if she walks on her hind legs, she can reach the candy dish, turn on the TV, and get lots of attention not bestowed on ordinary quadrupedal canines. All is well until Cookie gets noticed, first by a dog trainer, then a circus director, and finally by a Hollywood producer. They offer her snacks in exchange for increasingly complicated performances-she even gets her own TV show. Exhausted by the demands of fame, the pup realizes, with some help from a friend, that perhaps being a regular dog is best...unless she wants to reach that candy dish when no one's watching. Part picture book with full-page illustrations, part comic book with speech balloons and panels, the story is illustrated in a cartoonish two-dimensional cartoon style. Funny antics abound-Cookie walking on top of a lion statue, across a flaming board over a pond filled with snapping turtles, or saying "Mall Moo Mitt!" ("I'll do it!") through a mouthful of snacks. Cookie is not quite on a par with Susan Meddaugh's Martha, but her fans may enjoy this spunky talking (and walking) dog.-Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A canine parable about the dangers of fame. Cookie is an ordinary dog, except that she walks on two feet instead of four. When questioned by her dog friend Kevin, she explains that being taller has helped her in many situations--especially reaching the candy dish. In fact, she likes walking on two feet so much that she keeps doing it. She walks on a treadmill, up the stairs, down a meandering country path, everywhere. Then she learns to walk on balls, railings and flaming boards across a pool filled with snapping turtles (the logical next step). Her bipedal walking causes so such excitement that she is asked to join the circus. She even gets her own television show! Kevin is excited for Cookie's fortune, but he sees that she is exhausted. Cookie's only chance at survival is to put all four feet on the floor and simply walk away. But can she do it? Monroe's playful illustrations are filled with sly adult asides and plenty of detail for sharp-eyed young readers. Similar to Monroe's first animal hero, Monkey with a Tool Belt (2008, etc.), Cookie has an oversized head and spindly legs, which makes her upright walk all the more amusing. Moral: Fame isn't all that it's cracked up to be, even if it does come with a fanny pack. (Picture book. 4-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
