Just Perfect: More Adventures of Jules the Lighthouse Dog [Hardcover]

P. T. Custard (Author), Ana Greer (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 18, 2009

Mom's Choice Awards Gold Medal Winner. Silver Medal Winner - Young Voices Book Awards and Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist. Jules believes he is just perfect. But is he? Join Jules as he discovers what being perfect truly means.

Editorial Reviews

Review

JUST PERFECT is a wonderful sequel to the original JULES THE LIGHTHOUSE DOG and as delightful! Children (and their parents) will delight in this tale of Jules (a terrific Bernese Mountain Dog) and his doggie closet of insecurities. PT Custard and Ana Greer have depicted a companion that any age will love and truly value. --Kathleen Dixon, Owner, Islandtime Books and More

JUST PERFECT is a recipient of the prestigious Mom's Choice Award. The Mom's Choice Awards honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; and Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of the Mom's Choice Awards. Parents and educators look for the Mom s Choice Awards seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book/product has been honored by this distinguished award. --Mom's Choice Awards

Jules is a handsome Bernese Mountain Dog well aware of his good qualities. His size, color and voice are just right for his life beside the sea. Jules believes he is perfect, and his friends, who look exactly like him, agree. But when Jules visits a dog park and sees dogs that look very different from him, he becomes confused. These dogs aren't like him, so they can't be perfect, he reasons. So why are they so happy? As Jules observes the antics of these varying breeds of canines that are bigger or smaller or faster or stronger than him, or have shorter or longer and/or differently colored coats, he begins to appreciate their different talents and abilities. He comes to understand that perfect doesn't have to do with how one looks or with being just one certain way. There are many ways to be perfect, and perfect really means being happy with who you are. It's a valuable message, and a comfort similar to the way Mr. Rogers used to say "I like you just the way you are." The words and illustrations of this picture book work together so that this moral does not come across as didactic or preachy, but rather, goes down easy. P. T. Custard writes engagingly. Ana Greer's clean, bright colors and adorably drawn lively dogs will delight child and parent alike. A mischievous squirrel who shows up on several pages is an added treat. As a picture book that is fun plus can plant the seeds for both self-esteem and appreciation for others who are different, Just Perfect is--dare I say it?--just perfect. The US Review of Books --Kathy Fetsko Petrie - The US Review of Books

About the Author

P.T. Custard is the author of award-winning educational children's books used in classrooms nationwide. Her other books include JULES THE LIGHTHOUSE DOG, and 2009 National Best Books Award Finalist KID CANINE-SUPERHERO! She lived with the real Jules in the lighthouse keeper's quarters at the Pt. Loma Lighthouse in San Diego, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Black Plume Books (February 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978531728
• ISBN-13: 978-0978531720
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #395,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

P.T. Custard was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. She spent her "wonder years" in Baltimore, Maryland. A graduate of Colorado State University, P.T. focused her first career on informal education working for the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, as the Director of Education for the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon and as a Senior Associate for the Institute of Learning Innovation in Annapolis, Maryland. During this career she authored award-winning curriculum-based books used in classrooms nationwide.

Encouraged by friends she decided to launch her second career as a children's book author/publisher. Her first book JULES THE LIGHTHOUSE DOG was inspired by her time living at the Pt. Loma lighthouse with her family dog Jules. Her publishing company, Black Plume Books, was named to honor P.T.'s Baltimore roots - a nod to Baltimore's favorite adopted son, Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven - and for the love of the big, black birds she developed while living in Alaska.

Married to a Coast Guard officer, P.T. has grown accustomed to moving VERY frequently and counts Oregon and Alaska as two of her favorite places in which she has lived. She currently lives in Juneau, Alaska with her husband Buddy and her Shetland Sheepdogs, Dill - the star of P.T.'s second book, KID CANINE-SUPERHERO! - and Truman.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Perfect is... well, JUST PERFECT!, May 19, 2009

By 

Daniel E. Sernicola "bmdhistory" (Cleveland, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Just Perfect: More Adventures of Jules the Lighthouse Dog (Hardcover)

In P.T. Custard's first book, Jules the Lighthouse Dog, readers were impressed with her ability to convey emotions and morals to her audience showcased in an entertaining and engaging book. Many readers were left wondering how she could possibly top her first book. We don't have to wonder anymore! With the release of her latest book, Just Perfect More Adventures of Jules the Lighthouse Dog, we see that she once again has produced another incredible book for children.
The book begins with Jules feeling that he is just perfect. This feeling quickly changes as he goes to a dog park and sees other dogs of all different shapes and sizes. He begins to think that maybe he isn't so perfect after all and then comes to the realization that being perfect does not have anything to do with size, shape or color - Being perfect means being happy with who you are.
Multicultural values and recognition of differences is a common theme throughout the book giving the reader the sense that multiculturalism is a celebration of the many differences of those around us and ourselves. The story is a valuable teaching tool that should be on the bookshelves of all children and educators.
It is rare to find a book where both the author and illustrator have intermingled their talents to compliment one another to convey their story. Artist, Ana Greer, has taken Ms. Custard's words and provided readers with illustrations that inspire and entertain as much as the text does. Her use of vibrant colors and sense of expression is felt immediately with the turn of each page making this a book worthy of a display in a library or an art museum.
Ms. Custard has written three books thus far: Jule the Lighthouse Dog, Kid Canine Superhero and Just Perfect More Adventures of Jules the Lighthouse Dog. We readers want more and are anticipating the next book by this breakthrough author!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Goodbye to doggie tribalism!, September 9, 2009

By 

Fearless Reviews "D. Patrick Miller, Editor" (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Just Perfect: More Adventures of Jules the Lighthouse Dog (Hardcover)

For kids and their admirers who struggle with the illusion that it's possible to be perfect comes Just Perfect: More Adventures of Jules the Lighthouse Dog. The book opens with Jules under the impression that he's "just perfect" - and judging by the book's lush illustrations this big brown-eyed beauty is truly a gorgeous dog in real life. All Jules' friends, who look and act exactly like him, supposedly believe he's just perfect, too. Then Jules finds himself in a dog park surrounded by other kinds of dogs ... suspiciously different and foreign strangers of every description. He feels sorry for the other dogs at first, the poor things who couldn't possibly be as perfect as he.

But then Jules moves toward experiencing an open-hearted goodwill and emotional maturity. Goodbye to doggie tribalism and hello to live and let live.-- Sari Friedman for the FEARLESS REVIEWS

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The lush, beautiful color illustrations enhance this engaging story, June 18, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just Perfect: More Adventures of Jules the Lighthouse Dog (Hardcover)

The sequel to "Jules the Lighthouse Dog", Just Perfect: More Adventures of Jules the Lighthouse Dog is a children's picturebook with an important lesson about accepting oneself and others. Jules the Lighthouse Dog has long believed he is perfect in every way, having fully adapted to lighthouse life. But when he goes to a park filled with other dogs, he is initially intimidated by how drastically different they all are - could all these differences mean that Julies isn't perfect after all? 'Maybe being perfect doesn't have anything to do with color, size, shape, or long or short hair. Maybe there are many ways to be perfect - as many different ways as there are different dogs in the park. That's it! Being perfect is being happy with who you are." The lush, beautiful color illustrations enhance this engaging story with a memorable moral, especially recommended for young dog lovers.