Description:
Precocious little Madlenka is off again, around the world and back through time, without ever straying a block from her Manhattan home. This time, Madlenka wants a dog so badly that she gets her wish--or does she? None of her neighbors can seem to agree on just what sort of dog she's walking. (Never mind that Madlenka's red leash doesn't seem to be holding any sort of dog at all.) We're once again on a trip through Madlenka's imagination, inspired by the fond canine remembrances of her neighbors and gently illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Peter Sís. "'Look, everyone. I'm walking my dog.' 'Oh, he's white and short,' says Mr. McGregor. 'No, he's big and woolly,' says Mr. Eduardo. Each sidewalk acquaintance shares their memories of dogs past with clever little flaps. A flip-up drum (McGregor plays for the FDNY Pipes and Drums) shows wee McGregor with his West Highland white terrier; Eduardo's bicycle produce cart pops open to a reveal a scene from the Andes, with Eduardito dwarfed by a towering Newfoundland. Despite the very simple text, Madlenka's wild imaginings should hold up to enthusiastic rereading, especially as she travels into the fantastic past with her friend Cleopatra (who, as it happens, has an imaginary horse). But that's not surprising, given the involving nature of Madlenka's previous journey, the last time that Sís skillfully showed us the happy and peculiar place of a little girl "in the universe, on a planet, on a continent, in a country, in a city, in a house on a block where"--at least this time around--"everyone is walking a dog." (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes
| 
