Fu-Dog [Hardcover]

Rumer Godden (Author), Valerie Littlewood (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up

A Chinese English girl, her brother, and a toy dog run off to London to see their Chinese great uncle and have a wonderful adventure.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As exotic as spice from the Orient and as British as afternoon tea, Godden's story of the Fu-dog celebrates hope, love and a child's imagination. With the gift of a satin toy dog, Li-la's Great Uncle sets in motion the events that will eventually reconcile the two halves of the seven-year-old's family in London's Chinatown. Only Li-la can hear the Fu-dog speak--until she journeys to London where her skeptical brother Malcolm is injured, the Fu-dog is lost and all is resolved by the children's mysterious uncle who restores Fu-dog to Li-la in the form of a "real" Peking puppy. Images echo like the voice of the Fu-dog in Godden's ( The Story of Holly and Ivy ) affectingly told and neatly plotted narrative. The story is central in this 64-page, six-chapter novella, but seems well suited to the picture book format in which Littlewood's vibrant full-color illustrations and artful blue line drawings enhance but never overshadow the text. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4-- When a four-inch green satin Fu-dog arrives at the Smith house in Devon, a gift from Great Uncle, Malcolm declares it hideous, but his seven-year-old sister Li-la loves her latest birthday present from faraway London. Although her half-Chinese mother looks "like any English mum," and her brother is blonde, Li-la closely resembles the Chinese relations she has never met. Her father claims they are "too pernickity" for him, while her mother sighs that Dad is "too rough and ready" for them. Still, Li-la longs to know her Chinese grandmother's brother. Encouraged by conversations with the Fu-dog, Li-la persuades Malcolm to take her to London. Without their parents' knowledge, they make the train journey and manage, by great good fortune, to find Great Uncle's restaurant in London's Chinatown just as Chinese New Year celebrations begin. While Li-la's racial identity crisis is too easily solved, readers who like Godden's other oriental doll fantasies ( Miss Happiness and Miss Flower and Little Plum both Penguin, 1987) will enjoy this shorter book. With warm, appealing illustrations and delicate borders on every page, Fu-Dog most resembles Gooden's The Story of Holly and Ivy (Penguin, 1985) , its nostalgic flavor spiced with a dash of the pleasantly exotic. --Margaret A. Chang, Buxton School, Williamstown, MA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (May 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670823007
• ISBN-13: 978-0670823000
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,731,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Cute, sad, fun to read, September 7, 2011

By 

Nicole (NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Fu-Dog (Hardcover)

If you haven't read the description of this book (under "Editorial Reviews" on this page) then DON'T read it now! I read it, and I never realised it gave away the storyline, so I ended up knowing what would happen before I even read the book, which slightly ruined my first time reading.

This book is just lovely, although it's hard to write a review without giving away the story. All I will say is that this book is great, it's cute and friendly and it was fun to read. The author has an interesting writing technique and the illustrations are so cute.