Boot & Shoe (review)

"They eat dinner out of the same bowl. They pee on the same tree. At night, they sleep in the same bed." Yet terrieresque brothers Boot and Shoe spend their days on the opposite sides of the house, Boot on the back porch, Shoe in front, a system that works just fine until a troublemaking squirrel begins to taunt the pups, sending them whizzing around the house in a squirrel-chasing frenzy. Boot ends up on the front porch and Shoe on the back, and they're mutually alarmed by the absence of the usual dog for the place; after fruitless searching and a long wait, the two finally rediscover each other by the pee tree, and they have a joyous reunion. Though the resolution is a bit of a letdown after the exciting windup, there's an enjoyably folkloric tinge to the symmetry here, and the dogs' habits (including their giggleworthy pee spot) are not only humorous but realistic enough to ensure interest from animal lovers. Frazee's art, her familiar feathery black pencil lines with quiet gouache tints, ramps up the textual mirroring, with the brothers symmetrically arrayed in many thumbnails and spreads (culminating in the side view of the house showing Boot and Shoe perched comfortably at each end). That structural orderliness accentuates the effect of the squirrel-induced chaos, which peaks in a double-page spread showing both dogs and squirrel in seething sequence along the paths of their frenzied chase around and over the house. Dog lovers will recognize the frenzied chase, and any kid who's been startled by a shift in the routine will sympathize with the pair of pooches.