Work, Dogs, Work

August 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-Horvath's industrious dogs are back on the job in this third book featuring Duke and his crew. This time, the boys have a highway to build, and, with the same perfect balance of humor and information characteristic of Build, Dogs, Build (2014) and Dig, Dogs, Dig (2013, both HarperCollins), the author escorts readers through the process of constructing a road. The narrative verse, in four-line rhyming stanzas, never falters, regardless of the equipment needed or task at hand, making for a satisfying read-aloud that is also accessible to beginning readers. The full-page digital illustrations are perfectly suited to the audience, with bold colors, a cartoon flair, and just enough detail to invite children to linger. Feline fans will appreciate the cameo appearance of Jinx on every spread, and the dogs look like they're having so much fun, adults may wonder what's in their coffee. Construction junkies and Horvath fans alike will welcome this book in their libraries, while those new to the series will surely seek out the other titles.-Lynn Van Auken, Oak Bluffs School, Oak Bluffs, MA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2014
A crew comprising cheerful, cartoon-style canines and one cleverly camouflaged cat continues their construction careers in this third entry in an engaging series, following Dig, Dogs, Dig and Build, Dogs, Build (both 2013).This time, the diligent dogs are working on a highway, both resurfacing a road and creating a new section of highway by blasting through a mountain with explosives. The newly built highway segment ends next to a river, so the dogs magically conjure up the design and materials needed for a new, four-lane bridge. There's a gap in logic here that cuts out the role of the civil engineer and ignores the necessity of planning a major project of any sort in the real world, but these canine construction workers are so determined and doggone cheerful that their logical lapse must be overlooked. As in the previous volumes, construction vocabulary and geological terms are emphasized in the rhyming text, with a punchy quatrain on each page. Bold, computer-generated illustrations are filled with trucks, machinery, dogs in motion, and lots of gooey substances like asphalt and "mile after mile of / axle-deep muck."Big trucks, jovial dogs and snappy rhyming text serve again as the building blocks of another successful entry in this solidly built series. (Picture book. 3-8)

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January 1, 2015
The dogs from Dig, Dogs, Dig and Build, Dogs, Build are at work again, this time fixing a road. The crew spreads asphalt, blasts a tunnel through a mountain, and builds a bridge to the beach. The bouncy rhymes hit some potholes, but preschoolers will love the winning combination of construction vehicles and friendly pups in the bright digital illustrations.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)