Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Two Bobbies


Booklist (September 1, 2008 (Vol. 105, No. 1))
Grades K-3. “Neither Bobbi the dog nor Bob Cat has a tail, and some say that’s what brought them together.” Abandoned during the Katrina evacuations, pets Bobbi and Bob Cat wander dangerous, debris-strewn streets seeking food and water. Eventually taken to a rescue shelter, the Bobbies show distress when separated but remain calm when together. Workers then discover that Bob Cat is blind and that Bobbi seems to serve as his seeing-eye dog. A national news appearance ultimately results in the animals' shared adoption in a happy new home. The descriptive, sometimes folksy prose and realistically rendered gouache illustrations accessibly convey the Bobbies’ experiences and mutual devotion. An afterword, with a photo of the real-life furry friends, notes the parts of the narrative that are speculative, such as the animals’ pre-shelter experiences.This moving story about the importance of friendship and home highlights the plight of the hurricane’s lost and left-behind animals, as well as the value of animal shelters.

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