Amazon.com Review
Arthur Dog, guard at Dogopolis Museum of Art and ardent fan of Leonardo Dog Vinci, leads a quiet life--except when the moon is full. On those nights something happens to Arthur. His eyes grow bright and his fur seems to glisten... and soon he is hatted and masked and out on the streets painting secret masterpieces. No one knows who the mysterious Art Dog is, until the night when
Brrringggg! the museum alarm goes off, and Arthur finds himself in the middle of a Mona Woofa heist. Can Arthur extricate himself from this terrible predicament and point the paw at the true criminals? Thacher Hurd's wacky story and fabulously splashy illustrations, with witty nods to many famous artists, would dazzle any young reader. Budding art aficionados, especially, will be thrilled to recognize the works of Pablo Poodle, Henri Muttisse, and Vincent Van Dog, among others. A delightful book! (Ages 4 and older)
--Emilie Coulter
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Talk about a dog marking its territory-by day Arthur Dog is a mild-mannered hound who guards the Dogopolis art museum, but when the moon is full, he becomes Art Dog. Donning beret and mask, he takes paints and brushes and fills the back alleys of the city with his murals. Art Dog remains undiscovered until he's framed for the theft of Leonardo Dog Vinci's Mona Woofa. He's thrown in the clink, but escapes with the help of his superpowered medium ("where there were bars, he painted a window"), nabs the real crooks and gets his own gallery exhibit as a reward. Hurd's (Mama Don't Allow; Mystery on the Docks) straight-from-the-tube palette and blurry brush strokes suggest a painter in speedy action; his art-humor-canine portraits based on canvases by Vermeer, Seurat, Picasso and others line the museum walls-is good-natured. His plot, meanwhile, gleefully invokes comic-book conventions: Art Dog drives a streamlined Brushmobile, stops off at the Wile E. Coyote-esque Acme Paint Co. and battles the baddies in a dynamic spread highly suggestive of TV's goofy Batman (enhanced with cutout shapes a la Matisse). A waggish good time. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
