A Dog Saves the Day (No, Not Lassie)
October 03, 2007
If you have ever spent time in an elementary school library, you know how popular the Pets section is. I'd even hazard a guess that at my son's school, the dog books (636.7s) are the highest-circulating in the whole collection.
At our public library, the program where children read to pet-therapy dogs is wildly successful, and fills up quickly. Beginning (and advanced, too) readers can practice their skills with an uncritical audience. When Junior was younger, he signed up every time the program was offered. Occasionally we see some of the dogs around town and enjoy catching up with them and their owners.
Knowing our boy's love of dogs, Ms. L. the children's librarian recently recommended Jojofu, by Michael P. Waite (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1996). Based on a Japanese folk tale, the picture book concerns Takumi, a young hunter, and his favorite dog, Jojofu, "the bravest and smartest hunting dog in the land." Through a series of trials, Takumi learns to trust Jojofu absolutely. It's a good picture book for children aged six and older who like adventure stories; a two-paged spread of a bleeding fanged serpent might be too much for younger crowd. (Junior thought it was awesome.) In keeping with the tale's origins in medieval scrolls, Yoriko Ito uses traditional techniques in her illustrations to good effect.
Although the book is out of print, Amazon has a few used copies, and you'll likely find Jojofu at the library in the 398.2s, the folk-tale section. We've found some great books in these adaptations of Japanese folk tales. I hope to write about another one soon.
It's been a while since I played the game, so don't hold me to this, but I believe Takumi and Jojofu (possibly called Jojo) are characters in the Okami game for PS2 (which uses paint brush techniques to perform tasks -- it's a really beautiful game, and fun, too!)
Posted by: Kelly Fineman | October 03, 2007 at 09:12 AM
Oh, very cool, Kelly. If we ever get a video game console, we'll have to look for it.
Posted by: Susan Thomsen | October 03, 2007 at 09:31 AM
My old library used to have a reading therapy dog. He dressed up on Halloween as Harry Paw-ter. :)
Posted by: Sara | October 03, 2007 at 11:37 AM
Harry Paw-ter. I love it.
Posted by: Susan Thomsen | October 03, 2007 at 11:57 AM
OK-so another favorite of mine is Three Strong Women: A Tall Tale from Japan, by Claus Stamm. Very funny and great illustrations. Hello to Junior!
Posted by: Miss Lynne | October 03, 2007 at 02:12 PM
Ooh, that goes right on the list. Thank you, Miss Lynne.
Posted by: Susan Thomsen | October 03, 2007 at 02:29 PM