Sailor Dog (Family Storytime) [Hardcover]

Margaret Wise Brown (Author), Garth Williams (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 18, 2000 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Family Storytime

A dog who has always wanted to go to sea realizes his dream.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Golden Books (January 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307102335
• ISBN-13: 978-0307102331
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,179,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died over 45 years ago, her books still sell very well. Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading. She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them. She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper. Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book--but be careful!, December 3, 1999

By 

Christine Whittington (Winston-Salem, NC United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sailor Dog (Little Golden Storybook) (Library Binding)

The five-star rating really applies to the original version of this book, which is indeed as wonderful as the reviews indicate. The thing to watch out for in this new edition is that four pages of illustration and some text from the original edition are left out--the airplane scene, fishing scene, and the little house at night with smoke coming out of the chimney. If you have a beloved, tattered old copy from your childhood, by all means buy this new edition as a copy for your kids to chew on. But don't throw the old one away! And, if you love Garth Williams or Helen Wise Brown, look for a copy of the original edition in a used book store or web equivalent to get the whole story. Of course, if you have never seen the original, you won't miss a thing. The story and illustrations are still wonderful.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Down to the Sea in Doggy Ships!, June 18, 2000

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sailor Dog (Family Storytime) (Hardcover)

This 1953 story begins with Ms. Wise's typically lyrical prose: "Born at sea in the teeth of a gale, the sailor was a dog. Scuppers was his name." However, much of the book's language is not quite as enchanting, nor as warmly and wisely love-soaked as Ms. Brown's "Runaway Bunny." Perhaps it's just that this is aimed at a slightly older reader/listener than 'Bunny.'

The revelation here (in this Golden Book edition) is the very richly-hued palette of Garth Williams, who, for example, uses orange, purple, and varied shades of green with originality and flair. Some of his pictures recall (and may have inspired?) Richard Scarrey's busily occupied town creatures. The two-page illustration of Scuppers asleep in his cabin may very well lull your little one to sleep, and invite adult fantasies of building a cozy houseboat. Recommended!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book 50 years ago and was thrilled to find it, January 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Sailor Dog (Family Storytime) (Hardcover)

This book spoke to my soul as a little child (in the 1950s) - dreams of making it on my own, seeing the world, being adventurous. For years I looked for it, not remembering who it was by or the name. What a thrill to find it now and to be able to buy it for my friends' children and grandchildren! Thank you to Golden Books for bringing this back. But please give us an edition with all the illustrations and copy!