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Perfect Puppywritten by Stephanie Calmenson, illustrated by Thomas F. Yezerski32 pp., full-color illustrations, ages 4-7 (Clarion Books, 2001) ISBN-10: 0618011390 ISBN-13: 9780618011391 To jump ahead on this page, click one of these links:
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Puppy has a new girl, and he wants to show her how much he deserves all the good things puppies get. He makes mistakes though, and when he gets in big trouble, he runs away. When his girl finds him, Puppy learns he doesn’t have to be perfect to be loved.
Both Stephanie Calmenson and I had real dogs in mind while we worked on Perfect Puppy. Stephanie’s dog Rosie is already the subject of another of her books, Rosie: A Visiting Dog’s Story. Rosie is trained to cheer up sad and sick people. My parents’ dog Mickey doesn’t have such an important job, unless stealing toast and socks is an important job. He was the dog I was thinking about. It wasn’t until after I started working on the book that Stephanie and I realized that Rosie and Mickey are both Tibetan Terriers! What a coincidence! I also dedicated the book to my family’s first dog Tiffy, because a lot of her personality is in the Perfect Puppy, too.
I felt like the puppy in the story when I started this project. Stephanie Calmenson really wanted Clarion Books to let me illustrate her story, and I wanted to prove her right. I always admired Clarion, so I also wanted my first book with them to be perfect. As always, I made some mistakes along the way, just like the puppy, but I think we came up with a good book in the end.
“Yezerski’s pastel watercolor cartoon illustrations with dynamic facial expressions work hand in hand with Calmenson’s heartwarming story told from the dog’s perspective. Anyone who has ever had a pet or strived for perfection without success will enjoy Puppy’s amusing tale.” — School Library Journal, March, 2002
“No matter how good a puppy’s and its human’s intentions are, training is not automatic. Time, patience, and effort are required if a pup is to learn acceptable behavior. That’s the message Calmenson conveys, albeit less directly and with humorous watercolors, in this engaging glimpse of puppy-training reality.” — Booklist, 2002
“The watercolor illustrations add humor to this warm story of acceptance, mistakes and all.” — The Horn Book Guide, July-December 2001
This book is perfect for little kids — or even big kids — who need to know they’re loved even though they make mistakes. The writing is short and simple, but it’s so funny and full of meaning. It was my first attempt at illustrating a book for young children, and I really enjoyed it. Stephanie’s writing helped me imagine the bouncy, hopeful, slightly mischievous puppy. I got the chance to lighten up my style and have some fun.
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Here are excerpts from the reviews: