BOOKS: Counting on Calico and Calico Picks A Puppy

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July 1996:

Counting on Calico and Calico Picks A Puppy
both by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
Charlesbridge Publishing (85 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02172-4411),
1995, 1996. $6.95 each, oversized paperback.

Children love Counting on Calico
and Calico Picks A Puppy, from the introduction
of Calico the Cat by “Squeaker of
the House” Willy Whiskers to the very last
drawing in the brightly illustrated set, showing
cat and dog together. Though these
books have a rudimentary plot, and are
drawn as richly as any story-book, they are
in fact manuals on cat and dog basics, the
things every child should know before getting
a pet. The information is accurate; the
format and scale of the art are conducive to
group read-alouds. Humane educators will
particularly appreciate that after admiring
various purebreds, Calico finally settles on
a mixed-breed puppy, noting that mongrels
often combine the best traits of both parents.