I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
This Book Just Ate My Dog!
by
Richard Byrne
It is part of the Bella and Ben series and is a picture book in Hardcover edition that was published by Henry Holt and Co. on September 30, 2014 and has 32 pages.
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One of the titles in the Bella and Ben children’s series and revolving around two young friends. The focus is on Bella and her HUMONGOUS dog.
My Take
Oh, yes, lol. It begins with “Bella taking her dog for a stroll across the page…” But then…oh, no!!…the book ate Bella’s dog!! And Byrne makes use of book construction to have some inventive fun.
This is too cute for words, especially when Ben…oh, no…disappears in the search for her dog. People keep disappearing, and Bella decides to take matters into her own hands. And she so reminds me of frustrated adults, lol.
Thank goodness this is an “interactive” book, as only you can find them all.
I do love Byrne’s illustrations. They’re simple, clean, and such fun with that busily soft background and sponged-in buildings rising up from the chalked-in sidewalk of hopscotch squares.
The kids are going to have such fun with this…that is, if they enjoy the cleverness of it as much as I did!
You absolutely MUST study that second-to-last page for, ahem, anomalies, *more laughter*, and then read the very last page.
The Story
It was simply a walk…until her dog disappeared. It seems that Bella managed to cross that gutter of the book, but not her dog.
And not Ben, Dog Rescue, the Fire Department, or the Police!!
The Characters
Bella and Ben are the core characters for the series. Her dog doesn’t have a name.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a subdued coral background with a chalked-in tile floor. It’s Bella in a bright teal-on-teal floral dress and teal jacket with matching watchcap which covers her brown hair, fluttering in the breeze caused by being dragged across that floor, the heels of her pink shoes digging into the floor, as she holds a very taut leash.
The title is the awful truth, for This Book Just Ate My Dog!. And that’s not all it ate!
