Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I actually checked Randy Cecil’s Lucy out of the library because I thought it was intermediate fiction with a lot of illustrations (think Ollie’s Odyssey); I enjoyed it, but it’s really just a fat, fat picture book.  (It averages a sentence or two–literally–per page.)  The illustrations are all in shades of grey with a fuzzy sort of feeling, and both text and illustrations leave me wanting more–more detail, more description, more depth.  If it had LOOKED like a picture book I don’t think I would have minded, but when it looks like a duck but chirps like a robin, false expectations mess with your overall impression.  That said, it’s a sweet little story about a dog, a girl, and her dad, and Cecil does an excellent job creating a sense of people and place.  Young animal lovers will likely enjoy this one, and it may be a confidence builder for readers who want bigger books but struggle to get through them.  Its length, however, would make it an awkward read-aloud, at least for me.  If you or one of your kiddos reads it, let me know what you think!