Amazon.com Review
And they call it puppy love... Two bouncy puppies meet at the top of a hill and befriend each other to the tune of the much-loved children's song, "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" Granted, musical notation is not included, but anyone reading "Do your ears hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow?" will be hard-pressed not to sing the words. The puppies act out the song, tossing their ears over their shoulders ("like a continental soldier") and waving them at their neighbor ("with an element of flavor"). A gatefold flap at the end of the story-song reveals a double-your-pleasure surprise, as the pups' ears entwine for a "heartening" finale. Readers are invited to follow along with illustrated hand movements. Caroline Jayne Church's sweet, goofy, cartoon-like pictures suit the silliness perfectly. (Ages 2 to 6)
--Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
Church (Hungry Hen) pictures two long-eared pups' playful romp in this reprise of a ridiculously catchy rhyme. Beginning with the title line, "Do your ears hang low?," a brown hound strolls up a hill alone. In the next spread, "Do they wobble to and fro?," a gray-spotted dog approaches from the other direction. When the dogs see one another, their ribbony ears fly up in surprise and become tangled ("Can you tie them in a knot?/ Can you tie them in a bow?"). They play a shy game of hide-and-seek to a second verse of "Do your ears hang high?/ Do they reach up to the sky?" Ultimately, a gatefold opens to show the new friends cheek-to-cheek, shaping a heart with their plume-like ears. The sequence concludes with instructions for hand gestures to accompany the song, and leaves the musical accompaniment to experienced singers. Church draws in a thick, squiggly black line on paper made from torn newsprint and flower petals. Her innocuous artwork and use of a familiar chant will suit any sing-along occasion, and her theme would endear her to the star of the equally comical Dog Eared (reviewed January 14). Ages 2-up.
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