HORVATH, James. Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail. illus. by author. 40p. HarperCollins/Harper. Jan. 2014. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9780062189677.
The canine crew from Horvath’s Dig, Dogs, Dig (HarperCollins, 2013) is needed again, this time on a demolition job, so foreman Duke and his enthusiastic pack head downtown. There’s an old building there that has to come down to make way for new high-rise homes at Bark Avenue. Their wrecking ball crashes into the structure with a gigantic “BOOM.” The yellow bulldozer clears “piles of rubble, and/bricks and concrete/without any trouble,” while the red and blue dump truck hauls it all away.
Working dogs deserve a treat, so they grab a quick snack at the “R-Coach,” which features hot dogs, corn dogs, chili dogs, and the like. The work isn’t finished yet; there are trenches to be built for pipes and drains, a foundation to pour, girders to weld, and cables to run. The afternoon break involves a good game of fetch before installing the finishing touches on the interior. All in all, the penthouse, with its terrace and pool, is perfect, and tomorrow the mutts are off to another job.
Horvath’s cartoonlike illustrations were created digitally, and the dogs are reminiscent of a beloved old Saturday-morning character, Augie Doggie. Youngsters who can’t get enough books with pictures of heavy equipment will be attracted to this one. – Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA
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