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BONE DOG

Bone Dog
Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Rohmann
Author's First Name: 
Eric
Publisher: 
Roaring Brook
Publication Date: 
2011
2013 Nomination (not yet selected): 

When Gus loses his old dog, Ella, he is comforted by Ella's promise that she will always be with him. On Halloween when skeletons surround Gus and are about to do whatever it is skeletons do to small boys, Ella appears as a skeleton herself - a dog skeleton. This doesn't bother the skeletons until Ella and Gus howl for reinforcements. Rohmann's signature artwork is so bold and satisfying with its black outline and a special treat on the title page. This book is handsomely done and is a book that dog lovers with love. Up to Seven. Joan Kindig

Ella, Gus’s elderly dog, promises Gus that she will always be with him, but after she dies, Gus spends a lonely Halloween cavorting with skeletons in the cemetery. Gus’s reappearance is part of the night’s spooky but endearing magic. Firm horizontals and thickly outlined figures keep the story grounded.

Comments

Meeting Notes September

by ladamson - 09/29/2011 - 11:21am
Meeting Notes September 23
 
Positive Comments:
  • The wonderful art work contains sequential panels that make readers want to turn the page to see what will come next.
  • The story, although a little scary, is safe enough to reassure readers at the end.
  • Spooky but sweet, the story can comfort someone who has lost a pet.
  • The book begins with a huge full moon to which the author cleverly returns at the end.
  • The language with phrases such as “clouds swallowed the moon” appeals. 
Observations:
  • This author knows page placement very clearly.
Concerns:
  • The book’s skeleton pictures may make the reader uncomfortable with their disturbing sense of scariness.