Dogs and Cats - Hardcover

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Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 5–This could have been just another book about pets, albeit with a clever gimmick (after reading about one of the species, youngsters can flip the volume over to learn about the other). However, Jenkins has created a book that reaches beyond the mundane and into the spectacular. The two halves of this whole are intertwined throughout. In the part about dogs, cat icons serve as teasers for the other section, and vice versa. The two halves meet in the center with a large illustration of a cat and dog lying together on a rug-a seamless transition from one subject to the other. The lively narrative provides a copious amount of information, examining each species in human history, describing evolution and domestication, highlighting physical characteristics and behaviors, and finishing up with amazing facts about each animal. The layout is excellent, with images dominating the text. Jenkins's cut- and torn-paper collages are stunning. Rough edges look like tufts of fur; patterns in the paper give these flat images vitality. This is a thoroughly attractive package from start to finish. Shared aloud, it is a treat not to be missed.–Kara Schaff Dean, Needham Public Library, MA
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Award-winning illustrator-author Jenkins offers readers a delightful and insightful grab bag of facts about a human's best friends. Yes, friends--plural. Because this book is a twofer: when you've finished reading about dogs, you simply turn the oversize book around, and there--presto--is a similar format about cats. The two animals meet in the middle in a double-page spread that shows the natural antagonists harmoniously sharing a space. The information--about the respective species' origins, special characteristics, "amazing" facts, etc.--is widely available elsewhere, but this offers a good introduction for novice naturalists. Moreover, this title has something the others don't: cut-and-torn-paper collage^B pictures that alone are worth the price of admission. Dynamic, intricate, and informed by affectionate humor, they show dogs and cats of all shapes and sizes and packed with personality. The clever collages have an almost 3-D effect, so much so that kids--and adults--will want to reach out and pet. Michael Cart
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