A song celebrating two dogs that are as different as they could be, and both well-loved by their owner. - (Baker & Taylor)
Despite being different in size, shape, and personality, lovable pooches Fanny and Blue are equally adored by their doting owner who has always accepted them for being just as they are! 75,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)
A song celebrates two dogs that are as different as they could be, and both well-loved by their owner. - (Baker & Taylor)
Fanny and Blue may not be the smartest dogs, and they may not be the best-behaved dogs, but they are definitely the most-loved dogs.
John Lithgow's bouncy song - in the book and on the accompanying CD - is based on his own family's two dogs. And Robert Neubecker's eye-popping illustrations capture the joy of all things dog. - (Simon and Schuster)
John Lithgow is the New York Times bestselling author of I Got Two Dogs; Mahalia Mouse Goes to College; Marsupial Sue Presents: The Runaway Pancake; I’m A Manatee; Micawber; Marsupial Sue; The Remarkable Farkle McBride; and Carnival of the Animals. An award-winning actor, he has starred on stage, film, and television. He performs concerts across the country and has recorded the CDs Farkle and Friends, Singin’ in the Bathtub, and The Sunny Side of the Street. Visit John at JohnLithgow.com.
Robert Neubecker is the award-winning author and illustrator of Linus the Vegetarian T. Rex and the Wow! series. He also illustrated Not Just the Driver! by Sara Holly Ackerman, Shiver Me Timbers! by Douglas Florian, Sophie Peterman Tells the Truth! by Sarah Weeks, I Got Two Dogs by John Lithgow, and Monsters on Machines by Deb Lund. A graduate of Parsons School of Design, Robert also illustrates for The New York Times and Slate magazine. He and his family live in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit Robert at Neubecker.com. - (Simon and Schuster)
Booklist Reviews
"Though not always well-behaved, beloved poochie pets Fanny and Blue, are "loyal and true . . . ooooo . . .", and are at the heart of this amusing, affectionate paean that uses Lithgow's children's song lyrics as text. They may not know any tricks, and Blue's "ruffs" and Fanny's "yips" at the night sky might not endear them to everyone, but "they're happy and they're huggy and they stick like glue." Ultimately, the narrator says, "There's nothing I'd trade for my Fanny and Blue." The text's bouncy rhythm and rhymes feature repetition and lengthy "Oooo's" throughout (enthusiastically sung, with slight variations, by Lithgow on a companion CD). A hand-lettered font will encourage lively readings and participation, and colorful, energetic illustrations depict and extend the text of the playful scenarios: "They go together like a sock and shoe" accompanies a scene of the two dogs destroying the same. Ranging from comically chaotic to tender, this is an entertaining, peppy read with a reassuring sentiment of unconditional love that dog fans and owners will especially appreciate." Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews.
Horn Book Guide Reviews
"I got two dogs, / Fanny and Blue. / Bet you kind of wish / you had two dogs too." In five entertaining verses, the text (sung by Lithgow on the accompanying CD) offers an affectionate description of the narrator's dogs. Neubecker's energetic digital illustrations show the unruly pups getting into all sorts of mischief not mentioned in the text. Copyright 2009 Horn Book Guide Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
Pooches are playful...and sorta crazy, too, but ya gotta love 'em. Simple, rhyming text looks like it's slapped haphazardly on the page with a paintbrush (it's hand-lettered). This matches the (hyper)activity of the narrator's two dogs, Fanny and Blue. Little Fanny is white and scruffy while short-haired Blue's "kinda gray." They play with shoes, chase cats, root around in dresser drawers but don't really like to fetch a stick or know any tricks. They do like to lick their master's face, tag along wherever he goes and, at night in bed, sleep right on top of him. Neubecker's digitally rendered illustrations capture the mischief and movement of the two pups in bold strokes. Tying everything together is a bonus CD of the text as performed by the author, and a good thing, too. Deathless verse this ain't; Lithgow's slight, amiable book works best as a read-along for his catchy song. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus 2008 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Lithgow's (I'm a Manatee) singing tribute to a couple of canine ne'er-do-wells named Fanny and Blue strives for the kind of goofy, bouncy simplicity of Burl Ives's classic Little White Duck album. But as line upon line reiterates the dogs' gangly, insistent charms, song and text grow a little too familiar—even when Lithgow gooses the lyrics by turning words into howls ("They're not too smart,/ But they're loyal and true ooo ooo ooo ooo"). Neubecker (Wow! City!) fares much better: his boldly inked, maniacal cartoons capture the full measure of four-legged joie de vivre and remind readers why it's hard to stay mad at dogs for long—even when they rearrange sock drawers or share the joys of mud with startled bystanders. Ages 2–6. (Oct.)
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School Library Journal Reviews
PreS-Gr 1— This musical ode to two prized pooches packs a crowd-pleasing wallop of theatricality: "I got two dogs, Fanny and Blue./Bet you kind of wish you had two dogs too.... They're not too smart, but they're loyal and true-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo/Oh there's nothing I'd trade for my Fanny and Blue." Lithgow performs his catchy melody on the accompanying CD, complete with a back-up chorus, trilling flutes, and trumpets. The lyrics are translated clearly onto the book's pages and will send listeners into fits of giggles at each houndlike repetition of the "ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo" refrain. Neubecker's large, vibrant paintings perfectly capture the frenetic world of dog ownership, cheekily depicting a broader appreciation for each creature's personality than the verses alone provide. For example, "I got two dogs, Fanny and Blue./Always go together like a sock and shoe" is paired with a picture that reveals the two mutts using a sock and a shoe as chew toys. The illustration for "I walk 'em in the evening and the morning dew" shows the pups bounding after a very displeased cat with their leashes trailing behind. Sure to entice youngsters, this book will find a welcome home in storytime and circulating collections.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI
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