A Greyhound, a Groundhog by Emily Jenkins (review)
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- A Greyhound, a Groundhog by Emily Jenkins
Library ed. ISBN 978-0-553-49806-6 $20.99
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-553-49805-9 $17.99
Reviewed from galleys R 3-5 yrs
Playful tongue-twisting text cues the action when a greyhound (“a round little greyhound”—or is it “a grey little round hound”?) meets a groundhog (“a found little roundhog” or “a brown little groundhog”). They take off in circular chase (“Around and around and around and around”) until they flush a flock of butterflies and gallop off in pursuit across a bog and into happy collapse. While the end isn’t quite as clever as the frenzied windup, the chiasmic wordplay is smart and entertaining while still being pitched appropriately to young listeners. The watercolor illustrations have the fluid movement of Meilo So’s animals with a touch of Chris Raschka’s jubilant anarchy, moving easily from still geometry to kinetic free-for-all. The word and animal antics will be a hit with kids who relished Gravett’s Orange Pear Apple Bear (BCCB 6/07).
