Caldecott contender - brilliant use of the gutter (Simon on the verso, his reflection on the recto).

Simon is pleased with his bone, until he sees another dog with a better bone (actually his reflection). Simon gets in a fight, loses his bone, finds another, and gives it to the other dog. "He'd lost a bone, but he'd found a friend."

A silly/wise approach to the common problem of sharing; readers will enjoy being in on the joke. ( )

First sentence: Simon was out playing by the pond when he found a bone. If there was a better bone in all the world, Simon hadn't seen it. But then he spotted something in the pond. It was another bone. A better bone. There was a dog holding the bone. But it was a scrawny little dog. Certainly no match for Simon.

Premise/plot: Simon is a LOVABLE dog who though he has a bone wants a BETTER bone that the pond-dog has or seems to have. Will Simon convince the pond-dog to trade bones? Will Simon be left with any bones by the end of the book?

My thoughts: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this sweet, humorous picture book. Simon was incredibly lovable--and silly. Readers will inevitably be a bit brighter than Simon which makes for some amusement. I love the way this one ends.

This one reads differently than most books--literally--in how the pages are turned. I thought this was fun.

I think this would be a great read aloud for parents, of course, but also for libraries. (I'd say pre-K and Kindergarten could join in on the fun. Not sure if it would work for older grades. Though to be honest, I think readers of all ages could enjoy this one.) ( )

clever story of dog and his reflectin ( )