Woof: A Love Story by Sarah Weeks, Holly Berry (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

A dog is a dog

and a cat is a cat

And most of the time

it's as simple as that. . . .

Or is it?

What's a dog to do when he falls in love with the cat next door? Bark? Chase his tail? Dig up a "brass bone" and hope that the universal language of music will help him to express his feelings?

This humorous and heartfelt story is about the power of love and the power of music, told through the eyes of a lovelorn dog and the cat he adores.

Children's Literature

Weeks and Berry, combining their talents for the third time, give us a tale that plays with the intriguing problems of communication and how what we are thinking we are saying may be heard quite differently by someone else. Here they play on the traditional enmity of dogs and cats—Weeks' rhythmic and rhyming couplets tell us about a dog who is strangely attracted to a cat. When he barks his "I love you" what she hears is the usual doggy "Woof, Woof." However, when he manages to turn his longings into music, Cat gets the message and all ends happily as Cat curls up with Dog, with a meow, which "He understands what she means somehow." Berry's vibrant and colorful illustrations keep the message from being too heavy handed. All in all, this book not only will appeal to dog and cat lovers, it is a wonderful way to trigger classroom discussions about how we manage to get our message across. Reviewer: Mary Hynes-Berry

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2—An ordinary dog who likes to do ordinary dog things ("running and panting, sniffing and growling, rolling in things, digging and howling") happens to notice a pretty little cat and promptly falls in love. He smiles; she notices his large teeth. He approaches; she retreats. He calls up to the tree where she's hiding, "I love you!" But what she hears is, "Woof, woof, woof, woof." His affectionate whispers sound very much like growls. It's only when he digs up a very special brass bone—a trombone, in fact—that he finds a way to communicate his love in a language she understands. This affectionate and funny story is told almost musically, in rhythmic (if occasionally uneven) verse by expert storyteller Weeks. Berry's exuberant collage illustrations spill over the pages, gorgeously chaotic and filled with heart.—Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY

Kirkus Reviews

Weeks offers up a charming and humorous story about the love of a dog-for a cat. As in many love stories, matters do not go as smoothly as the would-be lover might wish. When the two speak in their native vernaculars of "woof" and "meow," only misunderstanding ensues. Fortunately, using his dog talents for sniffing buried treasure, the pooch finds a common language in music with the help of a shiny golden bone he digs up from under the ground. It is a special musical 'bone-a trombone-and he plays a love song to the sweet, bemused kitty. Music hath charms, and all's well in a book filled with wordplay. Much is revealed in Berry's lively, colorful and often hilarious collages that accompany the rhyming text. The beagle-y-looking dog and delicate white cat appear against photocollaged backgrounds that include fabrics, flowers and lots of shiny doodads preschoolers will delight in spotting. A book of wit and tenderness that is absolutely "Best in Show." (Picture book. 4-8)

Product Details