Harry and Lulu [Hardcover]

Arthur Yorinks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1900 | Grade Level: P and up

Lulu desperately wants a real dog. So you can imagine her frustration and anger when her parents hand her Harry, a stuffed dog! She doesn't realize, however, that stuffed animals have feelings, too, and Harry is no exception. He explains to her that he is a real dog--and that he's from France! Lulu is skeptical until he takes her there. Before Lulu knows it, she's having a ball.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Yorinks (Hey, Al) mines the much-visited "Calvin and Hobbes" vein in this tale of a toy that comes to life, but with an intercontinental twist. Lulu is a grouchy blonde girl who begs her parents for a real dog. When they present her with a plush red toy poodle substitute named Harry instead, "Lulu went lulu.... She threw poor stuffed Harry onto the floor and kicked him and stamped her feet and banged the wall and slammed her door. Whew!" Unsurprisingly, Lulu's bedtime is soon interrupted by a "squeaky bark." The temperamental urchin peers over the foot of the bed to see an animate Harry, who is not at all happy about being mistreated. Furrowing his curly brow and dramatically pointing his paw skyward, the poodle threatens to leave Lulu for his alleged home country, France. At this, Lulu races to her closet, chooses a prim red coat and green beret worthy of Ludwig Bemelmans's Madeline, and accompanies her pet on a whirlwind trip to Paris, and by the time they return home, before dawn, they are the best of friends. Matje (When It Starts to Snow), a Parisian himself, gives readers a captivating bird's-eye view of the city's monuments and buildings, drawn on a vertiginous two-dimensional grid in a delicate, controlled ink line. His intimate scenes of caf?s, street corners and the algae-green Seine have powerful panache, and Lulu's attitude improves greatly in this sophisticated setting. Her transformation testifies to the magic of dogs and the City of Lights. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-An odd twist on the usual fantasy of a child who believes a toy is real. Lulu refuses to believe that Harry, the stuffed animal given to her instead of the pet she requests, is a real dog. Harry, for his part, is determined to prove himself. The tale has a happy ending when Harry saves Lulu's life and Lulu, in turn, saves Harry's. It is written in an arch, tongue-in-cheek style, full of strange inconsistencies (even for a fantasy). Harry and Lulu start out with an adversarial relationship; they snipe at one another verbally and, in disgust, Harry announces that he will return to France where he came from (even though he later confesses to being from Indiana). Lulu decides to accompany Harry even though she dislikes him, and they seem to walk to Paris over night. However, the watercolor-and-gouache cartoons do not show readers how this is accomplished. In Paris, Harry realizes that he loves Lulu and rescues her from the path of a speeding car, but the author gives readers little information to support this conversion. In addition, some spreads, like that of Lulu dressing for the trip to Paris, and the otherwise charming Parisian scenes, do little to advance the central story. Unlike Yorinks and Egielski's penultimate picture-book fantasy Hey, Al (Farrar, 1986), this effort lacks consistent internal logic and heart.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (January 1, 1900)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786803355
• ISBN-13: 978-0786803354
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,730,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun for kids and parents!, May 18, 2002

By 

kim1968 (Katonah, New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harry and Lulu (Hardcover)

This is one of my favorite children's books. Oh, and my kids love it too! I had to write a review when I saw that no one else had written one on this terrific book.

Arthur Yorinks infuses his story with sophisticated humor that adults will enjoy and kids will giggle at. The illustrations by Martin Matje are the perfect complement to this delightful story. You will go Lulu over "Harry and Lulu."