Every now and again I go through what might be described as manic phases of buying children’s books and last week I got it into my head that Mr Moo had outgrown all of his picture books and was in dire need of some longer, meatier stories. So I couldn’t rest until I had scoured the web, reading reviews, looking at honours lists and checking out best sellers until I had found the perfect books. After much consideration, I picked out about 8 books all of which I’m happy with (and some of which may appear in future posts) but the one book from my selection that has really touched me and has been a big hit with Mr Moo is Dogger.
I am not ashamed to admit that, in the case of Dogger, I completely judged this book by its cover. When I was younger I used to adore the “My Naughty Little Sister” series. These books were written by Dorothy Edwards but they were brimming with fabulous illustrations by Shirley Hughes. So when I saw the front cover of Dogger, I immediately recognised Ms Hughes’ work. In this book, which was originally published in 1977, Shirley has written the story as well as drawn the wonderfully detailed illustrations.
Dogger tells the story of a boy called Dave who gets temporarily separated from his beloved toy dog (the eponymous Dogger). Dave’s happiness (and his favourite toy) are restored when his older sister Bella steps in with an act of great kindness. The story itself is not a particularly imaginative or innovative one but its the way that it is told that is so wonderful – Hughes has a real gift for identifying with very young children and explaining how they feel. At one point in the story, Dave and his family are at the School Fair. Dave, who is already feeling very upset because he can’t find Dogger, watches as his sister Bella wins the three legged race and then wins first prize in the raffle which is an enormous teddy bear. Hughes tells us that Dave doesn’t like that teddy bear at all, in fact, he doesn’t like Bella very much at that moment because she keeps winning things. Isn’t this just exactly how any little man would feel in the circumstances? Mr Moo already loves this story and points at Bella asking ‘is that Bella who keeps winning things?’.
The illustrations are very seventies but to me, this totally adds to the charm, I love Dave’s mum’s headscarf and her special green dress for the Summer Fair, Baby Joe’s push chair is no Bugaboo and Bella’s short shorts are just like the pairs my sister and I used to wear. There’s an innocent and wholesome charm about this tale of sibling love and I just adore it. Dogger won the Kate Greenway medal in 1977 and its easy to see why. Pick up a copy from Amazon for just £3.99Stg.
