Fleabag by Helen Stephens

Fleabag was a city dog with no name and no home.  He liked to visit the park and see the other dogs with their families.  How he wished he had a person too.  Everyone ignored him until one little boy threw a ball and Fleabag caught it.  The little boy and the dog became friends, playing together when his mother wasn’t watching because she was busy with his little sibling.  Then the little boy found out that he was moving away, leaving Fleabag behind.  The night before they were moving, the boy looked out his window and saw Fleabag waiting there.  So he decided the solution was for them to run away together.  But Fleabag knew that something was wrong.  He refused to go and even woke up the family to the danger.  Now what is a family to do with a dirty dog that saved their little boy?  You know exactly what!

Stephens has written a book with a very classic feel to it right down to the illustrations.  Her text uses subtle repetition to build moods and connections.  It reads aloud effortlessly thanks to the repetition and the clear flow of the story line.   One piece I appreciated was that the boy and the dog build their friendship up over the course of time.  It is a testament to the strength of their connection that it did not happen immediately.  Stephens’ illustrations are filled with soft washes of color.  They have a vintage feel with modern lines and use color to great effect.  She also plays with white space very effectively, using it to isolate but also to be expansive.

A dog-gone good book, this is one friendly pooch that will have young readers cheering him all the way home.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.