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Summary
Summary
young girl and her spunky dog, Lulu, are faithful companions from the very start. As Lulu ages and slows down, they are unable to do all the things they love to do together-like mucking in streams and playing ball.When the time comes to say goodbye to Lulu, the caring little girl doesn't know how. She must come to terms with Lulu's death, and learn how to honor a loved one while moving on with her life. The appealing, expressive illustrations are an uplifting match for a serious topic. This sweet and timeless story will touch readers young and old, especially anyone who has ever experienced a loss.
Author Notes
Corinne Demas is the author of numerous books for children including Always in Trouble, Saying Goodbye to Lulu, The Littlest Matryoshka, and Returning to Shore. She also wrote the novel, The Writing Circle, for adults. She is a professor of English at Mount Holyoke College and a fiction editor of The Massachusetts Review.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Lulu, a black-and-white mutt, is adored by her freckle-faced owner, a girl whose parents gently guide her through the various stages of caring for an aging and then very sick dog. When the inevitable happens, memories of the past and hope for the future bring a bittersweet conclusion to this straightforward and affecting story. The emotions of the nameless narrator are clearly and simply shown. She describes how, when Lulu became blind and deaf, she "-fed her from my hand and held her water bowl so she could drink." The pictures, too, excel in tenderness without sentimentality. The realistic-looking cartoons, done with watercolor, colored pencil, and pen and ink, strongly convey the personalities of both girl and dog as they share good times and difficult moments. While this book does not break any new ground, it is accessible and appealing, and the death of a pet is a perennial childhood issue. Two similar titles, DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan's A Dog Like Jack (Holiday, 1999) and Marjorie Blain Parker's Jasper's Day (Kids Can, 2002), feature boys as main characters, so a book about a girl facing the same situation is welcome.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Predictable yet heart-rending, Demas's (The Disappearing Island) tale opens as the young narrator explains what happens as her dog gets "really" old: Lulu doesn't climb stairs and her sight fails. The child carries her pet out to the grass when she can no longer walk and, as the dog's condition deteriorates, the child covers a sleeping Lulu with a sweater ("the one she always pulled off my chair and curled up with when I wasn't home") and lays down beside her, stroking her back and telling her that she loves her ("But she already knew that"). In a scene that seems compulsory in books on this theme, the girl's father reassures her that they will get another dog "after Lulu," and the child insists she doesn't want another dog but wants "Lulu back, the way she used to be." The mother's insightful observation that the dying pet is now much like she was as a newborn, when her eyes were not yet open and she slept all the time provides some comfort. Though they'll know what is coming, readers will surely be affected by the author's spare, sad description of Lulu's death and burial, the girl's grieving-and her expected change of heart about acquiring another pet. Rendered in watercolor, colored pencil and pen-and-ink and featuring a pastel-dominated palette, Hoyt's (I'm a Manatee) lively, homespun art nimbly conveys the range of emotions that run through this comforting story. Ages 4-8. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
As Lulu the dog grows older and weaker, her owner, a young girl, tenderly cares for her. After Lulu dies, it takes a while before the girl comes to terms with her grief. Although the story deals adequately with the grieving process, it lacks emotional depth. The people in the watercolor, colored-pencil, and pen-and-ink illustrations are less attractive than the dog. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Lulu is a black-and-white, elderly dog who is adored by the unnamed narrator of this gracefully told story of love and loss. The little girl who tells the story knows that Lulu is old and unwell; even though she helps care for Lulu and sees the dog's decline, she doesn't want to face what is coming. The dog's death and the child's anger, sadness, and eventual acceptance are handled sensitively and in terms appropriate for children just learning about death, always underscored with gentle, realistic support from the girl's quietly understanding parents. The story concludes several months later with the little girl picking out a new puppy and realizing that she can start to love another dog. Hoyt's perceptive illustrations in watercolor with colored pencil and ink help create convincing personalities for both Lulu and the little girl and add a timeless, cozy quality that contributes to the story's reassuring tone. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. A girl cares tenderly for her old dog, Lulu, whose vision, hearing, and general health are declining. Though she wishes that they could play together as they used to, she knows that her dog will not get well. Lulu dies and is buried in the backyard, but it takes some months before the girl can say good-bye. As the story ends, she meets her new puppy and finds that her heart has room for Lulu and her new dog too. This first-person narrative relates events and expresses the girl's feelings in a matter-of-fact yet affecting way. When Lulu dies, the narrator is torn between longing and fear: I wanted to say good-bye, but I was afraid too. Among the book's many strengths is the way Demas uses sensory details to bring the story to life: the child doesn't just miss Lulu--she misses the thump of her tail and the softness of her fur. Hoyt's expressive illustrations, ink-and-colored-pencil drawings washed with watercolors, reflect the tone of the text and show the child's sadness without sentimentality. In one particularly effective spread, the girl sits alone on her school bus, isolated in her stillness from the other children. A sensitive, hopeful portrayal. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2004 Booklist