Doggie Gets Scared

November 15, 2020
A stuffed dog (and his baby) are afraid until they realize they have each other. Patricelli's instantly recognizable baby--White, still perpetually diaper clad, still with but one hair--from Bigger! Bigger! (2018) and many more is back with an adorable purple stuffed animal named Doggie. From swimming pools to strangers, Doggie gets pretty scared. The baby provides the pup lots of reassurance (including time with baby's blankie) so that in the end, neither one is too afraid anymore. Adult readers will get a kick out of the fact that Doggie's fears are actually the baby's fears. What's more, readers see the baby trying many of the same calm-down tactics on the stuffed canine that caregivers use on children. Both this device and the first-person narration are clever tools that will play well with little readers who likely share many of the same fears. The black-outlined images stand out against bold, saturated backgrounds, drawn with just enough detail to be interesting but not too busy. The simplicity of the illustrations doesn't prevent Patricelli from conveying emotion, from the baby's panic at possibly losing Doggie to the caregiver's palpable relief at having found it. All of the characters present White save a few background figures. Patricelli's rhyming Mad, Mad, MAD features the baby expressing anger and ultimately using techniques to work through it. Hits just the right note for fans of the series and newcomers alike. (Board book. 1-3)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2020
Patricelli's board-book baby with the single sky-high curlicue and rosy cheeks (recently seen in Tooth and Big Kid Bed, both rev. 11/18) confronts the emotions of fear (Scared) and anger (Mad) in typical-preschooler (and reassuring) ways. In Scared, the child tells us: "Doggie is scared of many things," and then proceeds to list common fear-makers -- strangers, loud noises, parents out of view -- while the color-saturated, textured illustrations show who is really afraid. Following a Knuffle Bunny-esque plot twist, everything ends peacefully with child and stuffie safe in bed: "Don't be scared, Doggie. We have each other!" A concluding spread shows "Things that can be scary" and "Things that can help the scary go away." Mad relates, in rhyme, the child's struggles with irrational anger and provides (deep breath) eventual suggestions for self-soothing; this book's concluding spread is "Things that help the mad go away" ("doggies," "friends," "pillow punches," etc.). As always, the baby is endearing (and imperfect and imaginative), the struggles are relatable, and the solutions offered are at least worth a try.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2020
Mad, Mad, MAD by Leslie Patricelli; illus. by the author Preschool Candlewick 26 pp. g 9/20 978-1-5362-0380-6 $7.99 Patricelli's board-book baby with the single sky-high curlicue and rosy cheeks (recently seen in Tooth and Big Kid Bed, both rev. 11/18) confronts the emotions of fear (Scared) and anger (Mad) in typical-preschooler (and reassuring) ways. In Scared, the child tells us: "Doggie is scared of many things," and then proceeds to list common fear-makers -- strangers, loud noises, parents out of view -- while the color-saturated, textured illustrations show who is really afraid. Following a Knuffle Bunny-esque plot twist, everything ends peacefully with child and stuffie safe in bed: "Don't be scared, Doggie. We have each other!" A concluding spread shows "Things that can be scary" and "Things that can help the scary go away." Mad relates, in rhyme, the child's struggles with irrational anger and provides (deep breath) eventual suggestions for self-soothing; this book's concluding spread is "Things that help the mad go away" ("doggies," "friends," "pillow punches," etc.). As always, the baby is endearing (and imperfect and imaginative), the struggles are relatable, and the solutions offered are at least worth a try. Elissa Gershowitz

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)