Muldoon - Hardcover

Floppy-eared Muldoon thinks of himself as his family's employee, and this newest offering from the creators of Some Smug Slug stretches the joke from the first line ("Muldoon works for the West family") to the last ("But the day he likes best of all is Saturday, because Saturday is... payday!"-the "pay" is a big bone). The text takes the dog's point of view, while the pictures reveal the reality of each situation as Muldoon progresses through the day. For instance, "He's in charge of getting everyone up" accompanies a picture of Muldoon in the master bedroom pulling down the covers; and a spread of the kids walking the dog to school reads "Muldoon puts the children on a leash so they don't run away." Younger children may not get all the gags about Muldoon's "career" (under a scene at the pet store, the text says, "The Wests chose Muldoon from a lot of other applicants"), but they will likely relate to the everyday events in the Wests' lives and are sure to enjoy Cole's unaffected drawings of the appealing pup and his harried family. Youngsters with canine "employees" of their own will enjoy this fun take on the pet-owning experience. Ages 4-7. (Sept.)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

PreS-K. Muldoon, a perky little puppy, "works for the West family." The working conditions are swell: he gets to live in their "big blue kennel" (that would be a house to us humans); he can come and go as he pleases, and as for the wages--well, how do two square meals a day, tickles behind the ears, and lots of tummy scratches sound? The text presents Muldoon's matter-of-fact point of view (he takes his work very seriously), but the real story emerges in the droll cartoon illustrations, with the story's gentle comedy evolving from the ironic differences between the two. There's nothing startlingly original here--and not much of a plot, either--but Muldoon is a cutie, Edwards is a clever writer, and the whole enterprise is informed by good humor as irresistible as a puppy. Michael Cart
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