  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 04/01/2014 PreS-Gr 2—Starting with illustrations on the endpapers, readers know immediately that they are in for a treat with this picture book. On the same day, Mr. Buttons returns home with a "friendly-looking dog," while Mrs. Buttons find the perfect "smart-looking cat." Clearly, these newcomers are not going to get along, and each one sets out to make the other leave ("Dog rubbed some party balloons on the rug and stuck them to cat. Cat popped them with sharp claws, nearly giving Dog a heart attack. Cat filled Dog's water bowl with hairballs. Dog poured the water over Cat's head during naptime."). The exaggerated traits of both animals are wonderful. Small details, such as the dogs at the animal shelter holding signs saying "I'll be your best friend" and "I want to lick you!" are a hilarious contrast to the cats in the pet store window with signs such as, "And you are?" and "I'm kind of a big deal." The colored-pencil illustrations are remarkable, and the animals' dialogue, expressions, and body language are priceless, as is the funny conclusion. A terrific addition to any friendship or pet storytime.—Brooke Rasche, La Crosse Public Library, WI - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 07/01/2014 When Mr. Button brings home a dog, and Mrs. Button brings home a cat, the two very different pets have to learn to share a room together. In a cute spin on a dorm-room situation, the two greet each other cordially, but soon their idiosyncrasies begin to grate on each other. Cat has no interest in chasing tails. Dog is not a fan of Cat’s indoor bathroom habits. And what’s up with Dog sniffing everything and Cat clawing everything? Gall has a field day with his comic colored-pencil art, offering so much to laugh at that it’s hard to keep up: Dog’s frat-house sloppiness, Cat’s rack of identical jackets, Dog’s iBone device, and more. After a phase of sabotage (Cat hacking hairballs into Dog’s bowl, etc.), the two rejoin forces when a third character arrives, louder and stinkier than either of them: a baby. This final plot swerve feels a touch extraneous, but that doesn’t take away from the giggly joy anyone will get from these odd bedfellows. A second round would be welcome. - Copyright 2014 Booklist. Bulletin for the Center... - 09/01/2014 When Mr. Button brings home a dog and Mrs. Button adopts a cat, the two critters have to learn to share the only available room in the house. Their very different habits, however, cause them to go paw to paw, each trying to oust the other from the household. Finally, they resort to a dividing wall but then find that they miss each other’s company; the addition of a disturbing new “pet” (a baby) further unites the pair, and together they build a pieced-together but peaceful joint palace in the Buttons’ backyard. The transition from initial antagonism to ultimate alliance is entertainingly depicted here, though with not quite as much punch as Jenkins’ That New Animal (BCCB 3/05). There’s plenty of comedy in the individual episodes of the two animals trying to figure each other out as well: Cat’s declaration that he has “indoor privileges” when it comes to potty habits and his horror at the dog poo between the pair’s outdoor chaise lounges (to which Dog archly replies, “I have outdoor privileges”) will elicit more than a few giggles. Gall’s detailed illustrations, in digitally enhanced colored pencil, are lively yet orderly, and black Cat’s perpetually grumpy mien and tan Dog’s slovenly habits add further humor to the text. Pet-loving kids, especially those with annoying younger siblings, may relate well to this title, or it could be paired with Bruel’s Poor Puppy and Bad Kitty for a cats vs. dogs storytime showdown. JH - Copyright 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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