Dog Tales

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at Queen’s University in Kingston.

Jennifer Rae’s collection of fractured fairy tales features dogs as
the main characters, and each of the six stories is a parody of a
classic fairy tale: “Cindersmelly,” “Little Red Riding Hound,”
“Jack Russell and the Beanstalk,” “The Princess and the
Pekinese,” “Rapawnzul,” and “The Doberman’s New Clothes.”
The narratives are very funny, and there are several examples of plays
on word that add to the stories’ humor. In addition, two cats provide
ongoing satirical commentary about the unfolding events in all the
stories. (Readers later discover these felines as characters in “The
Doberman’s New Clothes.”) Each entertaining tale is complemented by
Rose Cowles’s bold and expressionistic illustrations. Highly
recommended.