Horse Meets Dog by Elliott Kalan (review)

First contact between the title's equine and canine doesn't go well. Dog bluntly remarks on Horse's size, and Horse responds with the explanation that he, himself, is just the right size, but that Dog is actually very small. So small, in fact, that Dog might be a "wittle cutie tiny baby" in need of a bottle of hay. Dog, having none of that, rudely remarks on Horse's weird feet; Horse shoots back with equally rude assessment of Dog's poor hair care and subpar tail. Realizing this discourse is going nowhere, they back off and exchange presents instead. Horse presents Dog with a little saddle ("Someone sits on you, and you take them wherever they want to go. Fun!") and Dog offers in return a rubber ball ("You go get it, then I throw it again, and you go get it again"). The gifts are less than well received, and pair's encounter devolves into an identity-crisis shouting match, with confusion dramatically suspended when a newcomer flies in and comments, "You are two weird-looking birds." The existential absurdity of Willems' Elephant and Piggie is on full display here, with the audience confident it knows more than the floundering characters. Here also is the ultra-simplified, bug-eyed character drawing on the sparest of backgrounds that supplies emotional context clues for beginning readers tackling the chunky text in speech bubbles. An obvious pick for storytime giggles, this could also adapt easily—if rowdily—for paired reading. EB