Saturday Morning Cartoons-- Puppy Version

McDonnell, Patrick. The Mutt Diaries
October 7th 2014 by Andrews McMeel Publishing
Copy received from the publisher.

This is another of the Amp! Comics for Kids series. This chronicles the adventures of Mooch (the cat) and Earl (the dog) as they seek out food, have love affairs with little pink socks, and generally bedevil their owners with their antics. A section is devoted to each of the animals, and shorter chapters are written by compatriots Sour Puss, Crabby, and Chickpea. Unlike Phoebe and Her Unicorn, this is a much more episodic collection, and the artwork is much simpler, with a charming minimalistic universality underscoring the messages of friendship. What I really want now is AAA! A FoxTrot Kids Collection.

Clearly, too much vocabulary for a comic book review!


Hughes, Shirley and Vulliamy, Clara. Digby O'Day in the Fast Lane.
August 26th 2014 by Candlewick Press
Copy received from Young Adult Books Central and reviewed there.

This early chapter book follows Digby, an English, anthropomorphic dog, through his adventures with his classic but faltering car. He and his friend Percy almost run off a cliff, get involved in a road race, and are at odds with Digby's neighbor, the wealthy Lou Ella, who buys a new car every year. Digby and Percy are more concerned with helping out neighbors than in winning the race. This is charmingly illustrated in black and red, with a retro feel to a lot of it. I am torn between knowing this should go to the elementary school and wanting to keep it for myself because it somehow reminds me of Basil of Baker Street.