Kate Berube

Every day when Hannah gets home from school, her Papa is waiting for her at the bus-stop. And every day Mrs. P is waiting for Violet P., together with the P. family dog, Sugar. Hannah, who is terrified of Sugar, always declines to touch the dog, although all of her schoolmates enjoy petting her. But when Sugar goes missing one day, and Hannah considers what it would feel like to be lost and alone, her sympathy is aroused. When Hannah finds Sugar in the bushes outside her home, will she show more conquer her fear and make a new friend...?

A debut picture-book from Portland-based author/artist Kate Berube, Hannah and Sugar is a sweet little tale of a girl who overcomes her fear through her compassion for another. It gently demonstrates that, as is so often the case, we help ourselves when we help others. The artwork, done in ink, flashe paint and acrylic paint, is somewhat cartoon-like, but manages to capture the emotional pitch of each scene. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-books about children overcoming feelings of fear, particularly of dogs. show less

Every day Hannah gets off the bus. Every day her father is waiting for her. Every day Sugar is waiting for Violet P. Sugar is a dog and Hannah does not like dogs! No matter how often Mrs. P. asks if Hannah wants to pet Sugar, no matter how well-behaved she is, Hannah is just too scared.

But then Sugar goes missing. Hannah starts thinking about what it must feel like to be lost, alone and scared and when she finds Sugar she decides to face her fears.

I'm not usually a fan of watercolors, but I show more love Berube's gentle, scribbly colors and designs. This is a sweet story of a girl overcoming her fear to help someone else. However, the ending of the story didn't click for me. Why didn't anyone else hear Sugar stuck in the bushes? Even more worrying, although Hannah does hold out her hand first, approaching a trapped animal is never a good idea. They were right by her front door - why didn't she call her dad? Why the necessity to comfort Sugar?

Verdict: The story starts out well and I love the illustrations but I just can't get over the ending or suspend my disbelief. I'll look forward to more books from this author though.

ISBN 9781419718908; Published 2016 by Abrams; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

I liked this book for reasons including the plot, the way the book pushes readers, and the language style used. This story is about a young girl named Hannah who encounters the same friendly, neighborhood dog, Sugar by the bus stop. While the other kids are so eager to pet Sugar, Hannah doesn't pet her because she's afraid. In the end, Hannah ends up saving the day and overcoming her fear of dogs. I believe the big idea/message of this story deals with overcoming your fears and becoming show more courageous. I liked how this book pushes readers to think about others and lend a helping hand even if it is something unfamiliar to you. Hannah knew that Sugar was lost outside at night, "She decided that it would be scary and that if she were lost she would be sad and probably hungry". The language style in this story is very descriptive and patterned. "Every day after school, Hannah's papa picked her up at the bus stop, and every day, Sugar was at the bus stop waiting for Violet P. Every day after school, Mrs. P asked Hannah if she wanted to pet Sugar, and every day, Hannah said, 'No, thank you". The patterned language in this story helps readers understand Hannah's feelings toward Sugar because of the repeated phrases in the story. show less

This book is about Hannah and a classmate's dog named Sugar. Hannah is scared of Sugar, so whenever everyone pets Sugar, Hannah says she doesn't want to. Then Sugar goes missing and Hannah has to overcome her fear of Sugar to help the dog. This book is good for early readers because it has repetition and common words. Good for a classroom library, probably 1st or 2nd grade.