Rosie’ s gaze on the cover of this book caught my attention. Her journey from loneliness to friendship warmed my heart. Maybe it reflects the personal stories of Harry Bliss and Kate DiCamillo. That could explain why Good Rosie! is so meaningful.
“Rosie lives with George. Rosie is a good dog.” George perceives that Rosie is lonely, so they visit a dog park. But “It makes Rosie feel lonely to look at so many strange dogs.” Bliss introduces us first to Maurice, an enormous, drooling St. Bernard. Then we meet the tiny, yippy terrier Fifi. They invite Rosie to play but Rosie is unimpressed. She wants to go home. Never fear, these three canines find a way to have fun.
Kate knows her way through this story of new-kid-on-the-block, and Bliss knows how to portray it. They’ve been there, done that. Haven’t we all? And they both love dogs. Harry Bliss talks about himself and his art at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Kate DiCamillo talks about her life and writing at the Columbia Library. As a child, Harry loved to draw and to borrow books about art from the library. Kate loved to read. She read during three winters of her young life hospitalized with pneumonia. Both artists grew up in difficult family situations. Harry owned a miniature poodle named Penny for 17 years. She was his inspiration for many drawings. When Kate left home and moved to another state, she missed her dog so much that she wrote Because of Winn-Dixie. Her speech upon receiving the John Newbery Medal in 2014 for this book is worth the watch. Come to think of it, Kate and Harry even look similar. I think they could be mistaken for siblings.
DiCamillo, Bliss, Maurice, Fifi, and Rosie show us joy in diversity and face-to-face interaction. Good Rosie! sits on my shelf of favorites.
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