From Publishers Weekly
Kitsch is king in this effortful enterprise, which reflects a hefty amount of labor but does not deliver a commensurate amount of reward for young readers. As in My Town, Wegman's famous weimaraners--here, Chip, Batty, Chundo and Crooky--are cast as small-town citizens. Chip is the delivery boy, bringing everything from newspapers to pizza, and the others want to throw him a surprise birthday party, but their plan misfires. The deadpan storytelling is secondary to the no-holds-barred campiness of the props and settings. Tricked out in dumpy housedresses and flowered aprons or polka-dotted shirts and bow ties, the canines inhabit a never-never land of tackiness, their house a profusion of retro tablecloths, crewel-work pictures, '70s calendars, motel-quality art and busy-as-a-bee wallpapers. It's no surprise that the endpapers are designed to look like the fake wood of rec-room paneling from a bygone day, or that Chundo decides to make "a rustic sportsman's lamp" (the shade shows a fisherman amid a woodland stream) for Chip's birthday. The details are perfect, but their appreciation requires either a sort of jaded sensibility or a taste for nostalgia, neither of which kids are likely to share. All ages. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Gr 3 Up-Yet another installment in the Wegman weimaraner saga. This time, Batty, Chundo, and Crooky plan a surprise birthday party for Chip, a pizza-delivery dog. The three friends invite guests, devise the menu, make presents, and decorate. Then, on the big day, a different dog appears-Chip has taken off for his birthday. Dialogue balloons pop up throughout the story, adding humor and extra insight into the characters. However, the dialogue that makes up the main text is flat and predictable. The photographic images are of Wegman's standard dressed-up dogs, this time in a house decorated in a 1950s/'60s style filled with the appropriate kitsch (though a wall calendar indicates the year 1976). Older children may find the dogs' deadpan facial expressions, clothes, and activities entertaining. Purchase for libraries with a dedicated Wegman following.-Linda M. Kenton, San Rafael Public Library, CA
Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
