Excellent Ed

3.5 ( )

Excellent Ed is about the family dog not being allowed to do the same things as the family. Ed could not do the things the family could do. But in the end Ed was good at welcoming home his family. This book shows how important family can be.

Why can't Ed be as nice and neat as the people? ( )

A dog who wants to belong in his family by bringing something special and unique. But everytime he finds something he is good at, one of the other family members comes in and declares that they are. Its a play on words. For example, Ed first decides he is good at breaking things. But then one of the kids rushes and declares that they broke a record. So Ed tries to find something else he is good at. Great book for dog lovers and pet owners. Love the illustrations, especially with African-American characters. ( )

Ed the dog begins to feel a little unqualified to belong to the excellent Ellis family in this endearing picture-book from author Stacy McAnulty and illustrator Julia Sarcone-Roach. All of the human children in the family excel at their various pursuits, from Elaine with her soccer playing to Ernie with his baking skills. Ed racks his mind for some activity or quality in which he can stand out, only to be continually upstaged. Just as he begins to conclude that he is unworthy of belonging to the Ellises, he discovers some areas in which he is truly excellent...

I enjoyed the story here, despite having my doubts as to Ed's anthropomorphization - can dogs have inferiority complexes? - but it is the artwork, done in acrylic, watercolor, crayon and grease pencil, that is the real star. Julia Sarcone-Roach captures all of Ed's many emotional states to perfection, and his expressions are often quite droll. The scenes in which he is rolling around on the floor are particularly fun, and give a sense of motion to the page. I also liked the fact that the Ellis family is African-American, as there is still a dearth of picture-books featuring a more diverse range of characters, where that diversity is unremarked upon, and not the point of the story. Recommended to anyone looking for entertaining picture-books featuring our canine friends. ( )