Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
McDuff and the Baby
Illustrator: Susan Jeffers
Series
For ages 2 to 5
Hyperion, 1997 ISBN: 978-0786803163
McDuff loves his life with Lucy and Fred. He has his people all to himself and the three of them have such wonderful times together going for walks, listening to the radio and reading the comics out of the newspaper. Then something altogether upsetting occurs - a "stranger" arrives in the household, a baby. Suddenly all the special times that McDuff shares with Fred and Lucy are gone for the people have very little time to spare now that the baby is here. Worse of all McDuff is being ignored by everyone.
Of course Lucy and Fred wish that McDuff would love the baby but under the circumstances McDuff is not too keen on her. To make matters worse she keeps pulling his beard! McDuff has had enough and he starts to make his displeasure known. What can Lucy and Fred do to make things better for their little dog and will McDuff ever grow to accept the baby?
This wonderful McDuff story once again takes us into McDuff’s small dog world where things are simple and change is not a good thing. We can appreciate how hard it is for him to accept the baby and all the changes its arrival brings with it. How is a dog supposed to cope with this upheaval in his life?
As always Rosemary Wells makes her dog character loveable, credible and impossible not to identify with. The simple text conveys a great deal for readers of all ages and Susan Jeffers manages to McDuff’s face mobile and expressive in the most comical and delightful way.
