A Boy, His Dog, and the Sea
by Anthony Browne (Author) Anthony Browne (Illustrator)
A boy and his dog head to the beach and find that appearances can be deceiving in this story of an unexpected hero from former British Children’s Laureate Anthony Browne.
Danny isn’t expecting much excitement when he sets off with his dog, Scruff, for a walk on the shore. He would much rather play with his older brother, Mick, who’s gone off to be with his friends. Scruff loves the beach, but Danny finds it boring. His mom tells him to keep his eyes open: “You never know what you might see.” At the beach, a game of fetch leads to a close examination of sand treasures, until Danny spies an excited crowd waving at the ocean’s edge. Is there anything he and Scruff can do to help? In this visually striking picture book, Anthony Browne turns his hyperrealistic lens to a story about an ordinary day that becomes something extraordinary.
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Kirkus
An illuminating and perceptive look at the quiet confidence in all of us.
Publishers Weekly
This dreamy tale by former U.K. children's laureate Browne starts in a minor key as young Danny, feeling "a little sad and bored" while his brother Mick is out with friends, is encouraged by their busy mother to take the pale-skinned family's dog Scruff for a walk on the beach. "Keep your eyes open," she says. "You never know what you might see." As Danny walks glumly along, hunched over, everything around him seems glum, too--the gray skies, the oddly human expressions of vacant beach huts, the corvid inexplicably holding a balloon in its beak. Then Danny persuades Scruff to fetch a stick thrown into the water, something Scruff has never done before. When Danny happens on a group of people onshore gesturing at something in the distance, he sees a waving figure and sends Scruff out to fetch it, with startling, dramatic results. A rescue tale with a cracking finale, it's also a story about learning to perceive, a theme pursued both in the story's narrative thread and in its delicately conceived and executed watercolor illustrations, in which elusive forms--animals, faces, and more--shift and change. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 3-7. (June)
Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
A dreary day at the beach takes an unexpected turn. . . . An illuminating and perceptive look at the quiet confidence in all of us.
—Kirkus Reviews
JUV039220 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Values & Virtues
JUV013070 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Siblings
