Cool Cat, Hot Dog [Hardcover]

Sandy Turner (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 21, 2005 | Age Level: 3 and up

A cat and a dog have a good-natured argument about their differences.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A cat and a dog face off, each trying to one-up the other as it describes its own unique attributes. Each double-page spread features the cat's contribution on verso, the dog's on recto, as things escalate. Cat: "I scratch. I do as I want." Dog: "I fetch. I do as I'm told." Cat: I've got fleas." Dog: "Mine are itchier." Turner employs a mostly muted palette, mixed-media collages mostly in tans and blacks. Both cat and dog are created using textured papers and brass paper-fasteners at the joints, resulting in a deceptively simple, childlike appearance. But there's nothing simple about the sophistication of the compositions, which either oppose or interact in deliciously clever ways. When the cat says, "I'm mysterious. I've an independent nature," and the dog responds with "I'm man's best friend. I'm the leader of the pack," the reader sees the animals' hapless owner thrown entirely off-balance as the dog-not even pictured on the page-hauls him off to the right, while the cat's tail slinks out the cat door on the left. A supper truce can only suspend, never end, the eternal competition. Good fun. (Picture book. 4-8) (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author

Sandy Turner has both a cool cat and a hot dog. His books include Silent Night, which won the BolognaRagazzi Award at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in 2002, and Otto's Trunk, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book. He also does bits of art for the New Yorker and other glossy magazines under the name David Hughes. He lives in Cheshire, England.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (June 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068984946X
• ISBN-13: 978-0689849466
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 11.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,369,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Giggles, October 15, 2006

By 

Reading Mom (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cool Cat, Hot Dog (Hardcover)

My [...] daughter took this book out from the library and couldn't stop reading it and giggling. After we returned it, she recited passages from memory and still giggled. I'm buying the book now. She loved the cat and dog insulting each other; "You're as ugly as a Pekinese," and the little dialog blurbs accompanying the illustrations. Excellent fun for a dog and cat loving child.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hats Off To The Author, December 19, 2011

By 

Brooklynn - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cool Cat, Hot Dog (Paperback)

Great storyline with funny and engaging characters!

Young and old will love this book. I would give this book 10 out of 10.

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice pictures, August 25, 2011

By 

Hilda Miller - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cool Cat, Hot Dog (Paperback)

Nice pictures but the wording is not something I would like to expose my child to, "You're as ugly as a Pekingese. Your sure ain't no Siamese."