Anitha Balachandran
Raja the dachshund has two main loves in his life: chewing and the color red. He is happiest when he can combine these two passions. Thus, Raja gets himself in a fair amount of trouble. The people who share his house do not share his passions. Not when he chews Mrs. Lal's red shawl. Not when he chews Tanvi's red shoes. And certainly not when he chews Mr. Lal's red socks.
After the sock chewing incident, Tanvi takes Raja to the park. Usually he plays ball (a red one, naturally) with his friend Champ. Only today, the ball is nowhere to be found. Raja has red radar and can usually find anything that color right away, but the ball is nowhere to be seen. The gray pigeons haven't seen the ball, nor has the orange striped kitten. Raja finally spots his favorite plaything in the neighbor's yard, but getting it is another story. When he makes it back to Champ, Raja is covered in brown mud, pink netting and a peach sock. But he's got that red ball clamped firmly in his mouth!
I like how all the color words are printed in that hue. Those words pop right out in each sentence, putting the emphasis on the variety of colors, which makes for a festive read. The illustrations are cute too, with the pigeons flapping around wildly like pigeons do, and the sly scowl on the angry neighbor's face. I particularly like Raja's expression when retrieving his ball - that sly look of a dog who knows he is doing something he should not be doing and getting away with it.
Review copy provided by Kane/Miller.
Posts
