#43 Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion, ill. by Margaret Bloy Graham (1956)
40 points
Harry the Dirty Dog is another of the few picture books that I remember from my childhood. I include it in my “Dirt and Mud” story time for my toddler story time; while it’s slightly longer than the majority of the books I include for this group, it never fails to capture their attention. And why not? A cute dog plus adventure would interest anyone. – Jennifer Schultz
All together! I’m just wild about Harry, and Harry’s wild about meeeeee…
Truth be told, Harry probably doesn’t care diddly over squat for me, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love him just the same. Far more than merely the author who keeps getting shelved next to Charlotte Zolotow on our library shelves, Gene Zion and his wife Margaret Bloy Graham created an oddly iconic figure in the mischievous little pup that manages to get himself into and out of trouble in a particularly 1950s kinda way. He was the canine Dennis the Menace of his generation, sans the cutesy bon mots.
Children’s Literature described the plot as, “Harry is a most lovable black and white dog who has a whole range of adventures when he leaves his happy home in order to avoid getting a bath. He romps with the men repairing the street, in the railroad yard, and plays tag with other dogs. Each episode results in him getting dirtier and dirtier so that when he does return home, his family thinks he is a stray dog. Now Harry faces the task of getting his owners to recognize him as their pet. After several unsuccessful attempts, Harry digs up the scrubbing brush and takes it upstairs to the tub. The soapy bath reveals Harry to the family and he once again becomes ‘a white dog with black spots’.”
Married couples abound in creating children’s picture books and these two are no exception. According to 100 Best Books for Children (yes, I quote it a lot and yes, there is a reason for that), Graham met Margret and Hans Rey of Curious George fame (it’s all connected) and was encouraged to put together an art portfolio. She did, Zion wrote the tales, and the rest is history.
It’s funny, but until I started looking closely at Graham’s work I’d never really noticed how much Harry Bliss and Steven Salerno owe to her style. It’s iconic, really. Read the book here for a lark.
The New York Times said of the title, “Harry is sure to be loved; especially by those pre-school children to whom dirt is an ever-delightful thing.”
By: Aline Pereira,
on 4/27/2011
Blog: PaperTigers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Canada, Japan, Picture Books, Reading Aloud, Bilingual books, Margaret Bloy Graham, Jean Davies Okimoto, Jeremiah Trammell, Harry the Dirty Dog, Fukuinkan Shoten, Gene Zion, Scholastic Books, Doronko Hari, Watanabe Shigeo, Winston of Churchill: One Bear's Battle Against Global Warming, Add a tag
Just before I left Canada, I had a quick browse through the bookstore at our local airport, thinking it might be a good idea to bring a book about Manitoba to show to kids in Japan. Winston of Churchill: One Bear’s Battle Against Global Warming by Jean Davies Okimoto, illustrated by Jeremiah Trammell (Scholastic, 2007) was prominently displayed in the kids section. I’d heard about and read the book before to my daughter based on her teacher’s recommendation, so was happy to pick up a copy.
Winston of Churchill tells the story of a “fierce, brave bear” to whom everyone listened. He lived in Churchill, Manitoba — a famed location for polar bear sightings. Winston had a message for all those sightseeing tourists: If humans didn’t stop their nasty global warming habits, then a feature of the polar bears’ natural habitat — ice, to be specific — would soon disappear. Winston rallies his polar bear community to make a protest to the tourists. Everyone thinks this is a good idea, except for Winston’s wife. She has a little something she would like Winston to consider before making his stand public. Suffice it to say, the little something has to do with Winston’s own little nasty personal habit.
I thought I would read Winston of Churchill to Japanese school children in English, but lo, to my surprise, the book had already been translated into Japanese and there were three copies of the translation in my daughter’s school library here. So much for that idea! Currently, for our night time reading, my daughter and I have been concentrating on bilingual books to keep up with her English reading skills and help orient her in basic written Japanese. We started with the well known classic Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion, pictures by Margaret Bloy Graham (Harper Collins, 1956). The Japanese translation is titled Doronko Hari and is translated by Watanabe Shigeo (Fukinkan Shoten, 1964). We will now definitely be moving on to Winston of Churchill!
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By: Cheryl Rainfield,
on 9/15/2008
Blog: Cheryl Rainfield: Avid Reader, Teen Fiction Writer, and Book-a-holic. Focus on Children & Teen Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Uncategorized, Harry the Dirty Dog, Make Way for Ducklings, No Roses for Harry, picture books on DVD, Add a tag
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Some of my favorite picture books are being released as on DVD–Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, Harry the Dirty Dog and No Roses for Harry by Gene Zion, and many more. The stories will be released an animated adaptations on Make Way for Ducklings … and More Delightful Duck Stories (Scholastic Storybook Treasures)
To me, they seem like a great way for children–or adults–to be read some fantastic picture books when people are too busy or tired to read to them. They’d be a lovely accompaniment to the books–or a great introduction to them, for someone who doesn’t have the books (and who will hopefully go search them out after seeing the video).
What do you think about animated adaptations of picture books?
Thanks to Cynopsis Kids for the info.