Buster

Title: Buster

Author/Illustrator: Denise Fleming/David Powers

Publisher and Date of Publication: Henry Holt and Company, 2003

Genre: Picture Book, Fiction

Age Range: K-2nd Grade

Summary: In the story Buster, the dog, thinks his life is perfect...until "Brown Shoes" his owner, brings home Betty, the cat. Buster is afraid of the cat until he realizes that cats aren't so bad. Betty gets stuck up up in a tree and Buster saves her. They were best friends after that.

Response: I think that this is a good book for very young readers. I think that kindergarteners would love hearing this story during reading time. Most young children love animals so this story would be perfect for them. It is the classic story of rivalry between a cat and a dog except the roles are reversed. The dog is afraid of the cat. I think this is a sweet story when Buster saved Betty in the tree. I really like the little white cat and the illustrations. The illustrations are mostly hard, flat lines that young children would like. I also like how the book is partly written from the dog's point of view. Buster calls the box that Betty came home in the "big box." You understand how a dog sees thing.

Teaching Ideas: I think that this book would be good to read to young children in school and show them the pictures. They could relate to to because a lot of children have a dog or cat and they love them. Children would also love to tell you about their "Buster" or "Betty." I think that children would also love to hear how Fleming makes her paper with colored cotton fibers and stencils. Older children may like to try to make the paper.