Itty Bitty by Cece Bell (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

For a teeny-tiny dog seeking a home in a daunting world, big hopes — and a bit of ingenuity — go a long way.

Itty Bitty is a very, very tiny dog. But when he finds an enormous bone, he goes straight to work, gnawing out doors and windows and hollowing out the entire inside. When his work is done, however, his cavernous house still feels incomplete. Where can he find some itty-bitty things that will make this bone a home? Everyone from dollhouse lovers to grown-ups setting up a home of their own will fall for this comical tale of an optimistic canine who is small in stature but huge in charm.

Publishers Weekly

Where does a tiny dog find just the right decor for his hollowed-out-bone house? Why, the "teeny-weeny department" at a huge store downtown, of course! Such is the premise of this sweet and silly picture book that introduces a sunny pup of small size but big personality. Itty Bitty, a tan-colored dog not even as tall as a blade of grass, just wants to feel comfy in his new digs. A spread that shows him speeding down the road on his shopping trip, riding on a tricycle fashioned out of a walnut shell, is laugh-out-loud funny. Bell's (Bee-Wigged) crisp acrylic and ink artwork features blocks of color and simple stylized shapes on grainy, speckled backgrounds. Itty Bitty is reminiscent of a character Ed Emberley might create in one of his drawing books-a square body, triangle head and stick legs. But his pinpoint eyes, gentle smile and frequent exclamations of delight ("Satisfactory!") give him lots of warmth. Ages 3-7. (June)

Children's Literature

Itty Bitty, "a very very tiny dog," finds an enormous bone, big enough for him to hollow into a home. But it doesn't feel like home. Needing to furnish it, Itty Bitty goes shopping. Everything seems too big, until he finds a Teeny-Weeny Department, where he is delighted to discover things just his size. When he takes them home, the bone feels like home at last. Although it lacks drama, the small book is satisfying in its simplicity, while its small readers may comfortably identify with Itty Bitty. The cartoon-like tan hero is drawn in black ink lines; acrylic paints create textured settings with simplified forms. The "Miniature Masterpieces" on the shelves of the Teeny-Weeny Department offer a touch of fun in their titles, as Itty Bitty is happy to find a book that "…looks GOOD!" Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1—Good things come in small packages, including this book. When Itty Bitty, "a very, very tiny dog," finds a "very, very enormous bone," he turns it into his new home. The house feels empty, however, so he goes out to buy some furniture, driving to the store in his walnut-shell vehicle. Everything Itty Bitty sees there is huge, and he worries that he won't find anything suitable until he notices a sign pointing to the "Teeny-Weeny Department." He returns home with his tiny car loaded to the brim with everything he needs to make his new dwelling cozy. Children will enjoy this simple story about finding a place for oneself. The colorful illustrations, done in acrylic with ink, add cheer to the delightful story. The text is simple enough for beginning readers, and the book also makes a great read-aloud with small groups.—Kate Neff, Alachua County Library, Gainesville, FL

Kirkus Reviews

Itty Bitty may be the most aptly named pooch ever, but here he moves with inspiring confidence through normal-sized city and country alike. Puttering beneath towering daisies aboard a walnut-shell tricycle in Bell's small, retro-style scenes, the stick-legged Itty Bitty comes upon a bone big enough to live in-once he's gnawed out a door and windows, that is. Some furnishings then being in order, down the highway to town he drives. The department store's full-size furniture draws a dismayed "Whoa," but big signs point to the "Teeny-Weeny Department," where he finds not only itty-bitty rugs and itty-bitty sofas, but itty-bitty books, too. In no time his new place "felt like home," and in the closing vignette he nestles down in his new digs for a cozy nighttime read. Children will do the same with this terse, appropriately diminutive but definitive assurance that size really doesn't matter. (Picture book. 5-7)

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