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2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Read Aloud, Discover Aloud, Laugh-out-Loud Aug 20, 2007
Janice Savage creatively came up with a new way to tell a familiar tale and deepens that accomplishment by telling the tale in a way that will entertain children AND help them learn simultaneously.
Wow. That says a lot right there. One would think tackling such a number of things at once would cause a landslide of word-picture-debris, but in this delightful case it is exactly the opposite.
Children want to hear more of it.
Primarily it is the story of "having a new sibling" albeit in this case the sibling is for the family's dog, who just so happens to be the narrator of the story. It quickly engages the reader (the adult) who can then share that enthusiasm contagiously with the child.
There are plentiful opportunities to turn the read-aloud session into a "learn even more aloud" session, making the book even more of a living-breathing experience.
Perfect for a little one who also is expecting a sibling, but is truly fine reading for every child in the preschool age (perhaps read-to by the older sibling who can tell tales of when the younger one was first born!)
13 of 15 found the following review helpful:
A dog with kaleidoscope eyes Aug 15, 2007
This is a nice children's book about families in transition, with a deceptively simple twist- like the Beatles converting a simple love song to second person to make "She Loves You" unique- of telling the story from the point of view of a pet adapting to a human baby. It's a nice bit of displacement for discussing new family arrivals with kids. Of course, this book ends with a happy ending that doesn't necessarily reflect the fate of some pets, that function as psychological place holders for babies, when the real deal comes along, but little kids don't need to be burdened with that layer of reality. The illustrations are dynamic, and the book itself is a very quick read, so it's also a handy one to sneak in at night when the kids negotiate for one more book before lights out.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A funny twist on the tale of bringing home a new baby sibling Jul 30, 2007
Author/illustrator Janice V. Savage's debut picture book is a delightful story about noticing and appreciating our differences. She presents the story of a new baby in the family with a twist--from the dog's point of view! Fluffy white Dino is the adorable family pup who must figure out and accept a new baby brother who has pink skin and only two feet.
The illustrations are drawn in large, vivid blocks of color. I appreciated them for their simplicity and generous size. This book makes a big impact for its small format.
12 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 Adding it up Jul 21, 2007
This is a great little 24-page picture book, especially for the toddler who's second in the family--after the dog.
The bright pages, with very few words each, are perfect for babies starting to turn pages on their own, and are less inclined to eat the paper than they were just a few months ago. (even if they chew a corner now and then the book is printed on heavy stock, likely to withstand the stress.)
This adorable tale is also a neat way to introduce very little ones to counting. Kids having two feet, and their older "brothers" (as it were) having four.
A good one, for sure.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
4 1/2 Portrait of the Sibling as a Young Dog: An Innovative and Cute Story! Jul 06, 2007
The clever title refers to our narrator, a cute white terrier-ish dog, who discovers from "mommy and daddy" that he's going to have a baby brother! After this initial excitement, however, Dino the pooch seems a little disappointed: The new baby doesn't look like him at all! Janice Savage's debut work teaches basic concepts such as "alike" and different", as well as introducing colors, numbers, and, briefly, emotion (for example, "excitement," "love," and "family").
Graphic artist Savage produces intense colors and clean lines, and wisely refrains from cluttering her pictures with computerized razzle-dazzle. (The only eveidence I saw of that were the neato eyes--the pupils are concentric circles of brown or blue that lighten as they reach the pupil!) There's only one concept per page, and the colorful backgrounds--and them thar hypnotic eyes--will draw your young one's gleeful attention. A dog, a baby, and some funny but simple comparisons ably illustrated--It's simple but entertaining. For example, against a common green and orange background, facing pages compare the feet of the dog and his non-canine brother. "I have four feet" describes a picture of four furry, smudgy, possibly dirty paws. The next page shows the bottoms of the baby's two pink and pristine feet, with the contrasting words "he has two feet."
The conclusion has a little paeon to the constancy of family love, and the acceptance of differences, but I would have preferred a little twist. Those virtues will certainly appeal to parents and gift-givers, but the story needs to get a little more playful with all those differences; It's just a little too safe. This is admittedly a minor and very subjective opinion, but enough for me to feel that the story didn't fully reach its potential.
Oh...I called this "innovative"--let me explain.
There's a running discussion at Amazon.com titled, "Picture books or chapter books or both," in which readers talk about transitioning between these two types of books. I think "I have 4 Feet, He has 2" bridges an earlier reading "gap," the one between board and picture books. Ms. Savage's work would be enjoyed by kids younger than the 4-year old bound of the suggested age range. The simple concepts, the contrasting closeups and baby and dog, and the bright, eye-cathing colors have the feeling of a board book, but in a much larger format. True, it may not survive a bathtub as well, but for time ashore, this is a smart alternative. A definite pleaser, I hope we'll see more of Ms. Savage's large format books in the future--and so will your dog and baby!
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