Black Dog

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Without a doubt, the story-line itself is perhaps the book's greatest triumph. Panic and anxiety can be so easy to spread, especially when (as it was in the Hope family) the true circumstances have been distorted. It's great for children to know that there are times when someone has to just stop the madness and see what all the fuss is about. Truth, whether harsh or forgiving, is more restful than any propaganda. Wonderful story about how fear can cause something to grow out of proportion and about confronting fears. The name of the heroine, Small Hope, is a little obvious but works nonetheless. This poignant story by author-illustrator Levi Pinfold won the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal and provides the perfect springboard for discussing children’s fears and how to confront them. Told as a metaphor and using repetition and rhyme, it lends itself well to the study of literary language. The visually stunning illustrations which accompany the text also help reinforce the metaphor and invite high levels of inference from the children. Strong PSHE links can be made throughout. Links and themes: There's a couple of slight downsides with the plot for me. Everyone is scared of a massive dog outside the house. The tiniest child goes out to befriend the beast. As this is a book aimed at small children I wasn't sure this was an altogether good message, there's a massive dog that everyone is scared of so you could be seen as a hero to go and make friends with it? However much you love dogs small children do need to know that you can't just go up to a dog you don't know like that. A good opportunity to discuss this maybe. Another part where the child lures the dog onto thin ice is a bit problematic too, not a good idea for little ones to walk on frozen ponds and there is some name calling about the dog being fat and having a big tum. I do get a bit tired of the clever child/ silly adult storyline, I think this is patronising to children and misleading, they do need to listen to adults sometimes, especially in dangerous situations. But those things aside this is a lovely and inventive story of a child befriending a dog. The change of size throughout the story was fun and the illustrations of the dog are very endearing.

Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2015-02-11 14:48:26.305859 Boxid IA1137508 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City [Somerville, MA] Containerid S0022 Donor This book evokes one of those classical renderings of THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS- so cozy are the interiors.

urn:oclc:829060333 Republisher_date 20151017020445 Republisher_operator [email protected] Scandate 20151015081253 Scanner scribe10.shenzhen.archive.org Scanningcenter shenzhen Worldcat (source edition)

Agoraphobia isn’t contagious insofar as I know, so it would be unusual for an entire family to be simultaneously terrified of going outside. For this reason, I’m interpreting the family as ‘different aspects of the same individual’, in much the same way as the Winnie-the-Pooh characters are each different facets of a child’s single personality. Sometimes this person looks out of the window and is not quite so scared — other days the size of the menace is overwhelming. But there is one small part inside this individual which has sufficient bravery to face the world. This is the classic mouse tale trope, in which the smallest character is ironically the bravest. (And anyone who’s ever had a mouse infestation knows they’re not timid at all — mice are stupid brave for their size, relying on speed more than smarts!) This technique definitely lends the feel of ‘fable’ to this story, with thanks to Aesop and The Lion and the Mouse. Levi won The Booktrust Early Years Award in the Best Emerging Illustrator Category for 2010 for The Django. But the accoutrements scattered around — the stone animals with their staring eyes, the cluttered chaos, the soap-holder that looks almost like a mechanical hand reaching into the dirty old bath, the red tricycle that will always scare anyone who ever watched Saw — there’s something definitely spooky here. (The stone animals also remind me of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.) And of course your warm house is also spooky… when you can never leave. The mother looks a lot like a Marionette as she clutches the jug in the orange image above. This particular form of spookiness was utilised by Neil Gaiman in Coraline. WEATHER SYMBOLISMThe presence of a massive dog temporarily turns this family into miniatures, of the type you’ve seen in The Borrowers and Stuart Little.

Overall, we thought this was a very humorous tale and we enjoyed reading it together. I liked it even more when I read it a second time the next morning. There are so many details in the pictures that I simply overlooked when I read it the first time. Such a charming little story. Although a charming story on its own, the rich illustrations add more detail and make the story come alive. Readers will enjoy the message that you don’t have to be big to be courageous. This is an odd, but entertaining story about a family who perceives a dog to be bigger and bigger until the smallest child finally goes out to meet him. It is a wonderful tale about confronting fears and how some things can appear to be more terrible than they really are.The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals are the UK's oldest and most prestigious children's book awards. Often described by authors and illustrators as 'the one they want to win' - they are the gold standard in children's literature. Levi Pinfold was born in the Forest of Dean. From a young age he loved books and comics and spent many of his days drawing and writing his own stories. With a clever story and lovely, expressive illustrations, Levi Pinfold explores the idea that fear can often lead us to do think and do foolish things. Levi is now living in Australia and working on a new picture book for Templar slated for 2014 publication. Le illustrazioni sono qualcosa di fenomenale, ricchissime di dettagli ed estremamente suggestive, proprio come in una fiaba. Si potrebbe guardare ogni disegno per ore, perché i dettagli sono così numerosi e particolareggiati, interessanti, curiosi, simpatici che anche il più piccolo angolo della pagina racchiude una storia in sé. Le illustrazioni colorate sono bellissime, con il loro contrasto tra i colori caldi e saturi degli interni e il freddo delle ambientazioni esterne, dove a prevalere sono il bianco della neve e il nero del cane ,con la sola eccezione del puntolino giallo che è il cappottino di Small Hope, che sembra quasi dipingere con i suoi saltelli e le sue corse il paesaggio, portando il colore e il calore della famiglia anche nei luoghi desolati e freddi dove si trova il cane nero.