by Moe Zilla

Created on: February 28, 2010

It must've been fun to draw this book. There's realistic paintings of the perky pubby - but there's also splotches of dark paint to show how messy it is! The new puppy empties the trash can, then cleans out the coal bucket, and shakes the feathers out of the cushions. "What fun," the text adds...

"But the farmer's wife didn't think the mess was much fun at all..."

Ken Brown is the illustrator and author of "Mucky Pup," and he paints the puppy with an adorable expression. Big yellow puppy eyes look up innocently - from a pile of feathers and trash - as the farmer's wife looks down and points an accusing finger. She actually calls him mucky pup, which confuses the puppy even more. "Mucky Pup didn't know what to make of his new name," Brown writes. And then he heads outside to make friends.

But the rooster refuses to play with him because, after all it's king of the henhouse. And the duckling in the lake insists it's a championship swimmer.  The animals are illustrated wonderfully, and the curious dog cocks his head hopefully. But both birds look at the young dog, and tell him he's nothing but a mucky pup.

There's a marmalade cat on a bag of grain, and a horse in the back of the barn.  (The horse's answer, of course, is "Naaay, nay.") But it's the lonesome little puppy who's the star of the story, as his big eyes turn discouraged as he sits in a pile of straw. Fortunately, there's one barnyard animal that he's overlooked.

"Suddenly a snout appeared through the slats of the gate..."

It's a very muddy piglet - who wants someone to play with him! ("I'm just a mucky pig... Let's play in the mucky mud!") Turn the page, and there's four dirty drawings - with splotches of paint on the white page in between. The most prominent color is always dirt-brown, but you can make out the happy pig and the happy dog. Ironically, the puppy rolls in the mud so much that he loses his balance - and splashes into the lake. And when the farmer's wife calls him back to the house, he no longer needs a bath...

The book's final drawing shows what's wonderful about this book. There's a painting of the puppy curled up in its basket. The basket's on top of a rug, and it looks very cozy. But the puppy finally has a delightful look of contentment on his face.

Learn more about this author, Moe Zilla.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.