Hound Without Howl

Christine Linge MacDonald is a Toronto-based freelance writer.

A lonely bachelor who loves opera purchases a basset hound as a
companion, expecting to enjoy the music of the dog’s baying. To
inspire his silent but beloved pet, Howard exposes him to variations on
the word “bay” (bayberry tea, bay windows, and so on). His patience
is rewarded when Clayton bays at the rising moon.

Howard will satisfy fans of eccentric characters. An opera lover who
craves the sound of dog howls should be considered odd at least.
Clayton’s main activity is sleeping, so we learn little about
interactive friendship beyond the rewards of tolerance.

The book’s central joke is the multiple meanings of the word
“bay.” Although a young child might find this educational, he or she
would not have the sophistication to comprehend the book’s strange
imagery (perhaps resulting from the author’s love of alliteration) and
odd similes. Even an older reader might not be able to envision a “dog
dish that beamed like a spaceship” or a moon that “shone like a dog
dish.”

Where this book succeeds is in the marriage of text and illustration.
Turney-Zagwяn’s drawings are original, colorful, funny, and
charmingly odd. Captivated by the art, the reader will find the textual
oddities absorbed into the book’s fabric. Each well-designed page is
enhanced by a wide, contrasting border (featuring extra illustrations)
and easy-to-read type. Recommended.