SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

July 4, 2007 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Dogs and Cats

July 4, 2007 by Betsy Bird   Leave a Comment

Dogs and Cats by Steve Jenkins.  Houghton Mifflin. $16.00.

It must be very frustrating to work in the field of cut-paper picture books these days. I imagine your average collage artist will spend countless hours trying to get an illustration or scene just right in their book. At long last they will sigh, wipe the sweat from their forehead, and go out to treat themselves to a bagel or muffin. On the way to the bakery, however, they might pass a bookstore and there, propped up prominently in the window, will sit a book by Steve Jenkins. It has to sting. I mean, the guy is phenomenal. He makes it look so easy, as if he wakes up each and every morning saying, "Hmm… I know exactly how to make an image of a cat mid-pounce using just a little torn paper." The thing about Steve, though, is that no matter how many of his books you’ve read/agonized over the brilliance of, you always want to see what’s up his sleeve next. That would have to be his latest title, "Dogs and Cats". Guaranteed to give library catalogers nationwide a headache ("Do I put it in the dog section or the cat section, and for that matter which cover’s the front cover???") the book is a delightful little piece of eclectic non-fiction.

Hold the book in front of your face at arm’s length. Very good. You are now looking at the image of a cat. Now flip the book end-over-end in your hands. See that? Now you’re looking at the image of a dog. "Dogs and Cats" is one of those titles where there really isn’t a preferred beginning. Readers can discover the history and status of man’s best friend first, or they may wish to learn about the world’s most perfect predator instead. The two animals are examined at length with a variety of different cut-paper illustrations dotting the way. We discover what it means for an animal to be one breed or another. We learn how these creatures were domesticated in the first place and how their body language conveys what they’re feeling. We see them in the earliest stages of life, and then labeled and categorized from the tips of their nose to the whiskers on their faces. Jenkins breaks up the text regularly with his unique images and when you have finished one section you merely flip the book over and start reading from the other end to learn even more. It is the rare book that will satisfy both dog and cat lovers alike. Rare and wonderful.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Of course, he can’t do everything. When your images are created out of a material that is essentially two-dimensional, it can sometimes be difficult to convey a sheer lack of any dimension at all. So it is that the flat-faced Persian kitty in this book doesn’t look flattened so much as it’s merely wide. This is an aberration more than anything else, of course. For the most part, Jenkins does a magnificent job capturing everything from the ripples in a Shar-Pei’s skin to the bended ears of the Scottish Fold. The aggressive baring of a Dalmatian’s teeth is, for those of us who’ve been on the receiving end of such a creature, shockingly true-to-life. And, as always, it’s the energy and action in the book that’s so remarkable. These cats and dogs look as if they are engaged in serious play. I don’t know how you create an ecstatic leap out of wood fibers. However it is, Jenkins knows the secret and he doles it out with skill. I also loved the sheer range of materials here. A dog might be made out of marbleized paper or thick gray fibers. And Jenkins doesn’t just create animals with his paper. He’s just as adept at showing the white ripples around a Newfoundland swimming in the sea or the brown of an early human hut.

My standard complaint with children’s non-fiction is that the authors don’t always think to include any reference sources. The very layout of "Dogs and Cats" would have made that difficult, of course. I mean, unless you crammed it all in teeny tiny letters on the publication page below the first leaping cat, or else stuffed it in the center of the book, there’s no logical place to hide such info. That doesn’t mean I’m letting Mr. Jenkins off the hook, of course. I don’t care what the age of your readership may be. When you present facts of one kind or another, you should always make at least one broad hint as to where you got your info. Otherwise we could be reading a book with facts found via Wikipedia for all we know. Still, for all that the information is not credited, the text appears to be very diverse and interesting. I’ll admit that there were all kinds of things in this book that I didn’t really know. Wolves, dogs, cats, bears, and weasels are all descended from a creature called a Miacis? Who knew? And they still don’t know how a cat purrs? Huh.

I get kids in my library all the time asking for dog and cat books. What they usually want are books with photographs of those animals. Sometimes I accede to their demands, but once we get "Dogs and Cats" on our shelves, I’ll be heartily thrusting this title at them as often as I can. Great images and fabulous facts should give those budding vets something to pore over in their spare time. It’s a fun book, an educational book, and a visual stunner. Not a shabby combo if I do say so myself.

Filed under: Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

September 2023

Review of the Day: Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith, ill. Boulet

by Betsy Bird

September 2023

Review of the Day: The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh

by Betsy Bird

September 2023

Review of the Day: Big by Vashti Harrison

by Betsy Bird

September 2023

Review of the Day - Alone: The Journeys of Three Young Refugees by Paul Tom, ill. Mélanie Baillairgé, translated by Arielle Aaronson

by Betsy Bird

September 2023

Review of the Day: The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo, ill. Julie Morstad

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

The Bestselling Children’s Books of the Week

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

On Quiet Protagonists: A Guest Post from Jack Cheng

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Exclusive: New Sibling Adventure Story from Papercutz | News and Preview

by Brigid Alverson

Heavy Medal

Memoirs, big families and road trips, oh my: Wednesday Roundup: Graphic Novels

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Book Review: The A&A Detective Agency: The Fairfleet Affair by K. H. Saxton

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Peter Brown Visits The Yarn to talk about The Wild Robot Protects

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Katherine Roy Takes a Novel Approach to Scientific Subjects | SLJ 2023 Stars

New California Law Forbids Schools from Removing "Inclusive or Diverse" Books and Materials | Censorship News

Pet Hero Stories for Young 'PAW Patrol' Moviegoers | Read-Alikes

Judge Temporarily Blocks Arkansas Library Law; Michigan Library Association Campaigns for Community Advocates | Censorship News

Strategies to Spotlight Books for Deaf Awareness Month

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023