Tuesday, December 16, 2014

A Very Marley Christmas by John Grogan -- OPTIONAL

Grogan, John A Very Marley Christmas, illustrated by Richard Cowdrey. PICTURE BOOK. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2008. $9.99. Content: G.

Marley the big yellow puppy is especially hyper from all the excitement around Christmas. No matter what his family does, he has to be involved, from playing tug-of-war with the tree to dragging around a whole string of colorful lights. All the while his family scolds, "Bad dog, Marley!" but it does no good at all. Christmas has a surprise in store, though -- one that will excite the entire family this time.

The main draw to this book seems to be that it is part of the popular Marley franchise. While the illustrations are colorful and interesting, the story itself brings nothing new to the already-extensive number of Christmas books out there, and the wordy text could be cut by ⅓ with no loss to the meaning or voice. Still, this could be fun for Marley fans, or for those who love dogs in general.

EL (K-3) -- OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Caryn

No comments: