Harry Bliss

I enjoyed this nearly wordless comic-book-style story about a girl raising money to buy a friend for her class' pet.

Then I read it again paying closer attention to the background. That's when I noticed Donald Trump and Woody Allen. How out of touch do you have to be to put those alleged creepers in a children's book? (Especially in a scene where they are watching a young girl dance.) The book is full of references children will not understand, so it seems the author had a grown-up audience in mind in addition to kid readers. He must know that including those two was going to at best make some adults uncomfortable. Maybe he's courting controversy. It mars an otherwise fun book.… (more)

I had to read Bailey at the Museum, considering my dog’s name is Bailey and is even of similar height and coloring as Bailey in the book, though without the spots. In this Bailey book, Bailey’s class goes on a field trip to the Museum of Natural History. While there, Bailey doesn’t quite seem to get that it’s not a hands-on (or paws-on, or even teeth-on) exhibit. He gets caught up in exploring each stop and causes some problems. Well, my Bailey also likes to explore through chewing and putting his paws on everything so I can see this as quite a similar reaction to how he would act in a Museum in some respects. However, the book wasn’t very funny or endearing or particularly educational or quirky so overall I wouldn’t say it’s one of my more favorite picture books and I wouldn’t choose it to read to a group of a kids. If I thought they would like a book about dogs, there are many other dog books I would go to first, particularly with all the Clifford books and with books like Harry the Dirty Dog, a personal favorite. 2/5 stars for me on this one.
★★☆☆☆… (more)