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Cardillo, Margaret

Dogs at Work: Good Dogs. Real Jobs.

40 pp. | HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray | June, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-06-290631-1 $17.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Zachariah Ohora. In this entertaining picture book, the skills used in actual jobs done by all kinds of very good dogs--from therapy dog to truffle-sniffing dog to (somewhat alarmingly!) dog mayor--are shown in parallel to the traits that make canines great companions. A dog who always finds you during hide-and-seek may also be a great search-and-rescue dog, and a dog who takes care of you would make a great "mother dog" (a welcome addition to the list of jobs, appended). The framing device, in which the dogs stand up on two feet and leave their homes for the office, makes the text--told from the perspective of children as if they were the left-behind pets--feel a bit muddled, particularly when it transitions between the pretend world of dogs heading to human work and the realistic dog jobs that are highlighted in the illustrations. But that framing also gives OHora (Horrible Bear!, rev. 3/16; Goodnight, Veggies, rev. 3/20) a chance to shine in whimsical spreads of canines with briefcases lining up for a bus and a title page of cheerful pups sitting at their cubicles; meanwhile, wistful youngsters watch from windows. The illustrator's characteristic flat, colorful drawings, with a few objects highlighted with texture and detail, are just right for this celebration of all dogkind. Deliciously punny "barkmatter" and "furrier reading" introduce curious kids to the real dog jobs that fly by in the fast-moving story.
Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

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