Garbage Dog

PreS-Gr 2– A smelly pup lives outside a restaurant hoping to collect discarded food, only to compete with other stray animals in a battle for survival. If the little dog does manage to gather some scraps, he shares them with smaller creatures such as mice. When a particularly cruel cat and dog scare off the titular character, he is left to wander parks, making friends with foxes and more mice, until he is rescued and given a warm home. Throughout the narrative, cruelty appears time and again, first with the animals being abandoned by their owners, which then leads to the animals becoming angry and mean. Garbage Dog, later named Buddy by his new owner, repeatedly offers kindness and goodwill, thus teaching young readers that kindness is ultimately the best weapon in a mean world. Even after finding a new home, Buddy offers food to animals through the back door. While the message is warming, the writing is at times a bit clunky. Written in verse, some of the slant rhymes are a stretch and a smoothness in reading flow is sometimes missing. Conversely, the illustrations, largely rendered in blacks, browns, oranges, and yellows, are bold and engaging.