“A homeless unloved pup becomes one lucky dog in this tender picture book. . .”
―starred Publishers Weekly Review
The Gryphon Press is delighted to bring this classic children’s picture back into print for a new generation of children.
McDuff Moves In has been loved for its heartwarming and lively story and its magical recreation of a simpler era. Readers have commented that they loved reading McDuff’s story to their children, and, in due course, to their grandchildren, reading the book over and over, until, as one reader wrote, the “original copy was worn to shreds.”
“This collaboration by Wells and Jeffers is as sweet, substantial, and comforting as that bowl of rice pudding and will suit the many children who like stories with simple words, clear story lines, and happily-ever-after endings. ”
– Booklist
No one wanted the nameless little dog wandering the streets looking unsuccessfully for food and shelter until kindhearted Fred and Lucy, a young couple, take him inside. After they feed him rice pudding and bathe him, they realize that they cannot bear to return him to the pound. Newly adopted, McDuff–named that night for their favorite shortbread biscuit–is last seen happily asleep on his back on a pillow next to Fred and Lucy’s bed.
Wells knows just the right words to describe McDuff's emotions in ways that little readers will identify with and understand. She describes his joy in being accepted with these words: ''No one had ever asked him to come in. Everyone had always told him to go away.''
Jeffers's illustrations brilliantly capture a bygone art deco America in Lucy and Fred’s cozy home, a virtual-reality nostalgia unfaded. Dog lovers everywhere will recognize the very specific details that bring McDuff to life, from the familiar lift of a paw in the rain to the frightened eyes peeking out over the car dashboard.
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**My thoughts**
I remember enjoying books by Rosemary Wells when I was a child, and even shared some early on in my teaching career. I was delighted to see one making a comeback of sorts.
In this one, the poor dog manages to escape from the dogcatcher's truck and seeks a new home. He finds a couple willing to take him in, who at first think that they just do not have time to devote to taking care of a dog. But then they realize that they just cannot let him go to the dog pound and end up adopting and giving him a name. A sad start gets a happy ending.
I loved the feeling of somewhat going back in time to the 1930s, when life seemed a little simpler and less chaotic than it is now. In spite of this nostalgia, this book still holds a timeless quality about it that you do not find as much in current literature.
It really pulls at your heartstrings as you go through the range of emotions right with the dog. And the illustrations are truly darling. It makes me want to get out all of my other Rosemary Wells books and revisit them.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for fulfilling my request to review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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