Pole Dog By Tres Setmour and Illustrations by David Soman

Pole Dog By Tres Setmour and Illustrations by David Soman

There aren't a lot of details in the illustrations of this book. The coloring is really neat though, it's made with oil pastels so it appears as though it is wet. On each of the pages there are borders of yellow trim that make the pictures pop. The text is large and black. The sentences are simple, and the main character is a dog which children relate to well.

At first I didn't like this book because it was so sad, and for some reason when books or movies involve animals in danger or fear that makes them twice as sad. Throughout the book I kept wondering why someone would write a book solely on a dog that was droppped off on the side of the road with no one wanting it. There are sentences like "Shooting funs at Pole Dog." And "Raining cold on Pole Dog." I think these are depressing sentences for children. The last page of the book explains that the occurrences in this book are very true, and many dogs and cats are left on the side of the road with no one to take care of them. It explains that you should call a local Humane Society if you ever see a pet without its owner. After this explanation of why this book was written I can understand and be more accepting to it. I still think it is a sad book for children, but it is a good read for them because it rhymes and it repeats phrases for beginning readers.