Buddy and Earl

Starred review from July 13, 2015
Fergus (And What If I Wont?) and debut artist Sookocheff kick off a picture book series with an understated winner of a friendship story. A "strange-looking thing" in a "mysterious box" has been dropped off in the living room. While the creature is forthcoming about his name, Earl, he keeps a dog named Buddy guessing about what he actually is, telling Buddy that he is everything from a race car to a giraffe. Buddy is unconvinced: "I am pretty sure that giraffes have long, graceful necks, Earl. As far as I can tell, you have no neck at all." Most readers will recognize that Earl is a hedgehog, but it's clear that the animal's imagination and sense of adventure are what really matter as he talks Buddy into a pretend game of pirates, which involves forbidden activities like climbing on the furniture. The clean lines and soft palette of Sookcheff's digitally assembled watercolors feel simultaneously of-the-moment and timeless, and the same can be said for the rewarding and gently funny relationship that develops between these two animals. Ages 4â7.

Starred review from July 15, 2015
Two creatures find an unlikely friendship when one takes on the role of gagman and the other an unwitting straight man.It's raining, and Buddy is bored. Buddy is in the living room, and Buddy isn't allowed to touch pretty much anything there. Buddy is a dog. The daughter of the house enters with a box containing a ball of sharp quills. The girl leaves. Buddy mooches over to get a closer look. Turns out the ball of quills talks. Call him Earl, says the ball of quills. Buddy asks Earl what he is. Earl suggests a race car. Buddy, though no Einstein, thinks not. Giraffe? No. Talking hairbrush? "Buddy was almost positive that Earl was not a talking hairbrush." Earl suggests they engage in some no-nos, like jumping on the sofa, then on the coffee table. Buddy's having too much of a blast to demur. Mom enters. Buddy gets a scolding, but Earl sticks up for him, even though Mom doesn't appear to hear Earl's defense of Buddy. Buddy does. And that's how a dog and a hedgehog become friends in this winning series opener. Fergus' deadpan text and Sookocheff's simple, flowing artwork work in elemental harmony, elevating the book to a subliminal sophistication that breathes something quite smart into the proceedings. Earl and Buddy know the secret of camaraderie and play it out in fine form. (Picture book. 4-7)

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July 1, 2015

K-Gr 2-On a rainy afternoon Buddy the dog is bored and lonely, trapped in the house with his family. Watching the raindrops fall, he is surprised when his owner Meredith brings in a box that contains an odd looking object. The new "thing" is indeed alive and introduces itself as Earl. Since Buddy is not sure what type of thing Earl could be, the two begin a guessing game to solve the mystery. The inventive Earl claims to be many things, from a race car to a giraffe, and the two embark on a treacherous voyage using the sofa as their mock pirate ship. Despite the lack of a definitive answer regarding Earl's identity (he appears to be a hedgehog), Buddy is confident that ultimately Earl is nothing less than a friend. The neutral tones of the illustrations reflect the mood of a stormy day, and the depictions of the animal characters using Acryl Gouache are both soft and playful. VERDICT A simple story for animal loving readers and proponents of imaginative play.-Claire Moore, Darien Library, CT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2015
Grades K-2 *Starred Review* Buddy the dog is bored on a rainy day, but he's in for a surprise when a small box arrives with a mysterious prickly thing inside, who introduces himself as Earl. Inquisitive Buddy asks, What are you, Earl? Earl replies that he's a race car, but Buddy's not convinced. Tricky Earl agrees, I'm not a race car. I'm a giraffe. That's still not right, but Earl soon turns the tables on Buddy: You're very tall. Are you a skyscraper? Their lighthearted game of pretend culminates in a thrilling pirate adventure on the sofa, and Buddy knows he's found a friend. Though savvy little ones will likely recognize that Earl is a hedgehog (despite his insistence that he's a talking hairbrush), Sookocheff's cute, cartoonish pictures, rendered with thick black outlines and flat patches of subdued color, cleverly illustrate Earl's imaginative japes. When he claims to be a race car, the holes in his box transform into tires, and when he's a sea urchin, the blue area rug is a pool of sea water. Though the muted palette may not immediately dazzle, it's the perfect backdrop for Buddy's and Earl's wild imaginations to take center stage. Their charmingly raucous game of make-believe is appealing enough, but the sneaky lesson in deductive reasoning makes this frolicsome, read-aloud-friendly picture book truly outstanding.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2015
Sweet, clueless mutt Buddy meets a strange-looking thing inside a box in the living room, who introduces himself as Earl. Earl claims to be first a racecar, then a giraffe, then a sea urchin, then a talking hairbrush. Thinking hard, Buddy manages to refute each claim; then Earl (who is in fact a very clever hedgehog) guesses what Buddy is, ending his absurd list with: I was jokingyou're a pirate, just like me. Imaginative adventures ensue, involvingoopsthe living-room furniture. Buddy is the one who gets in trouble with Mom, but Earl staunchly defends him. Buddy thinks about this awhile, and finally figures out what Earl is: I think you are a friend, says Buddy. I think you are right, says Earl. For such an unassuming and unpretentious little picture booksimple line and gouache illustrations in a limited palette and with minimal detail; a basic font; a small trim sizethis has a surprising lot going on. See how effectively debut illustrator Sookocheff transforms Earl's box into a racecar, or Buddy into a skyscraper, or the living room into the high seas. Note the ease and flow of Fergus's mostly-in-dialogue text (especially impressive in the conversation between Mom and Earl, since Mom can't understand the animals' speech). Most of all, enjoy the humor, and the depth of characterization, in both art and text, and hope for more Buddy and Earl adventures. martha v. parravano

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)