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Reviewed by:
  • My Dog Lyle
  • Deborah Stevenson
Goldfinger, Jennifer P. My Dog Lyle; written and illus. by Jennifer P. Goldfinger. Clarion, 2007 [32p] ISBN 0-618-63983-7$16.00 Reviewed from galleys R 4-6 yrs

The adoring narrator is aware that Lyle "may look like an ordinary dog to some people," but she's got a list of Lylian virtues that demonstrate his wonderfulness. [End Page 25] Each spread describes a new Lyle characteristic ("Lyle cries when he hears a siren. He worries that bad things are happening somewhere") introduced by adjectives that accumulate with each newly described Lyle feature, so by the end he's a "snuggly, smart, howling, burping, slurping, stinky-pink, bouncing, shaky, bellyachy, smooshed-nose, on-the-go, sneaky, scaredy dog." The cumulative element provides structure that shapes what's otherwise essentially an affectionate catalogue, and there's homely humor in the narrator's detailing of Lyle's magnificence (when he "jumps up again and again to look over the hedge . . . it looks as if he's on a trampoline. Boing! Boing!"). Oil and acrylic illustrations make Lyle the center of every composition, many of them portraits wherein floppy-eared, piebald Lyle looks straight out at the viewer amid his latest exploit (the view through the bowl of Lyle lapping in the toilet will be a particular favorite); since audiences will probably want to pretend Lyle is their very own, it's just as well that the pig-tailed narrator limits her appearances. Lindenbaum's Boodil My Dog (BCCB 12/92) remains the gold standard for this sort of book, but Lyle's a lovable mutt indeed, and listeners will understand and share his mistress' pride.

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