Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Doggie in the Window
Illustrator: Fanny
Picture Book
For ages 3 to 5
Groundwood Books, 2004 ISBN: 0888996195
Doggie is the kind of dog who does not give up without a fight. More than anything he would like Mademoiselle Madeleine from the costume shop next door to adopt him, but he cannot get the lady to even notice him sitting in the pet shop window. He does every cute trick he can think of, but Mademoiselle Madeleine just doesn’t see him, so eager is she to get to her shop and to work.
One night Doggie manages to get out of his cage and he finds that there is a hole in the wall between the pet shop and the costume shop next door. Once Mademoiselle Madeleine has gone home, Doggie gets to work with the fabric, sewing machine and other bits and pieces that he finds lying around the shop.
The next morning, Doggie is dressed up in the outfit he made for himself during the night, and what an outfit it is. He now looks like a cat, complete with a long cat-like tail, pointy ears, and whiskers. It would appear that Doggie is a master costume maker, and he hopes that he will impress Mademoiselle Madeleine enough that she will at last notice him.
The deliciously funny antics of this loveable dog who wants to be adopted by a seamstress (and who indeed wants to be a seamstress himself) are sure to bring smiles to the face of anyone who reads this book. The illustrator has created flat image paintings in bright colors and she has taken great care to give Doggie, our hero, great personality and vivacity. There is no doubt that this is a dog in a million.
