by Moe Zilla

Created on: May 13, 2010

"Let's go into the churchyard, okay, Tom?"

British author-illustrator Ruth Brown describes two children on a tour of Greyfrar's Kirkyard - and slowly reveals the story of its most famous dog. First the children spot a fountain outside with a likeness of Bobby the terrier, which in 1858 "followed the romains of his master to Greyfriar's Churchyard and lingered near the spot until his death in 1872." But inside the churchyard, the two children meet a gardener who fills in some details. And the gradually unfolding story creates a sense of mystery.

"Bobby always slept in the daytime, you see, because he and old Jock used to work at night when he was a pup." As the gardener describes the dogs life with the night watchman, the illustrations switch to scenes from the 19th century. Their soft watercolors seem to match the story perfectly, since it's both a fond remembrance of a long-ago dog with the hint that the ghost of the dog may still linger in the churchyard. And they do a wonderful job evoking the seasons, first showing "the beautiful hills" with the sunny yellowish greens of springtime, and then a city of colorless greys and browns - speckled with white - showing "the freezing cold and bitter winds" of winter.

The winter "chased poor Old Jock into a long illness," the gardener remembers, and soon the terrier is following his master "for the very last time." I was impressed by this illustration too, which shows the stark black iron bars of a fence, surrounding a colorless snow-covered graveyard. In the foreground, the bedraggled dog stares off towards the gravestones. And as he keeps up his lifetime vigil, "The people of the town were so touched by the little dog's loyalty to Jock that they looked after him..."

If I have a complaint about this story, it's that it ends rather abruptly. (At first I thought a page must've been ripped out of the back of the book!) "I don't think we'll ever forget Bobby," says the little boy...which turns out to be the last line of the book. "Children expecting a chilling ghost story may be disappointed," reads one review on Amazon.

But maybe there's a subtle surprise hidden in its last illustration, as the gardener looks down at the two children. He's striking the exact same pose as the 19th-century watchman did just a few pages earlier. I wondered if the illustrator was trying to suggest that the ghost of the watchman now watches over the grave of his faithful terrier. But ultimately there's no explanation in the text, or even a grand philosophical message. Just a faithful retelling of the story of Greyfriar's Bobby - accompanied by some great illustrations.

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