A Greyhound, a Groundhog

by Emily Jenkins, Chris Appelhans (Illustrator)

Overview

"But what Emily Jenkins and Chris Appelhans’ lyrical collaboration is really about is the intoxicating thrill of friendship, and boundless joy of play..." –The New York Times

A “merry read-aloud.” –The Wall Street Journal

Winner of the 2018 Zena Sutherland Award for Best Text

From a heavyweight author and illustrator duo comes a delicious tongue twister of a picture book that features a little round greyhound and a little round groundhog.

With very spare, incredibly lively language, this is an entertaining read-aloud, with two amazing—and oh-so-adorable—characters at its heart.
 
When a greyhound meets a groundhog, wordplay and crazy antics ensue. The two animals, much like kids, work themselves into a frenzy as they whirl around and around one another. (Around, round hound. Around, groundhog!) The pace picks up (Around and around and astound and astound!), until they ultimately wear themselves out.

“Jenkins’s masterful text is deceptively simple.” —NPR on Toys Meet Snow by Emily Jenkins
 
“Appelhans, whose career up to now has been in animated films such as Coraline, is a revelation.” —Booklist, Starred, on Sparky!, illustrated by Chris Appelhans
 
“Appelhans makes an auspicious picture book debut with strikingly beautiful watercolor and pencil illustrations. His style, reminiscent of Jon Klassen’s, incorporates a muted color palette, but with a slightly softer, rounder quality, while also weaving in visual deadpan humor.” —The Horn Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780553498059
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	01/03/2017
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	435,503
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD200L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Emily Jenkins has written many highly acclaimed books for children, including the picture book Toys Meet Snow, a New York Times Notable Book and a Wall Street Journal Best Children’s Book of the Year, and the popular, award-winning chapter books that feature the same beloved characters, Toys Go Out, Toy Dance Party, and Toys Come Home. She is also the author of A Fine Dessert, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year; Water in the Park, a Booklist Editors’ Choice and a Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book; and Lemonade in Winter, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. Visit the author at emilyjenkins.com.
 
Chris Appelhans was selected as the Children’s Choice Illustrator of the Year at the Children’s Choice Book Awards for Sparky!, written by Jenny Offill. The book received two starred reviews, including one from Booklist declaring, “Appelhans is a revelation.” Chris has also worked on several films, as an illustrator and a production designer for Coraline, an environment designer for Fantastic Mr. Fox, and a visual development artist for The Princess and the Frog.

Editorial Reviews

…exuberant…what Emily Jenkins and Chris Appelhans's lyrical collaboration is really about is the intoxicating thrill of friendship, and the boundless joy of play: play between improbable friends; play between color and empty space; play between language and meaning; and play between author and illustrator.

The New York Times Book Review - Rowboat Watkins

★ 10/17/2016
Dedicated to picture book icon Ruth Krauss, this elegant pas de deux between two unlikely creatures recalls the sense of uninhibited play that Krauss brought to her own work. “A hound./ A round hound./ A greyhound,” Jenkins (Toys Meet Snow) starts, accompanied by Appelhans’s watercolor of a curled-up dog, its abstract form captured in a few graceful strokes. “A hog./ A round hog./ A groundhog,” she continues, as Appelhans (Sparky!) paints a fat, furry fellow with tiny ears and a shy smile poking its head up aboveground. For “a greyhound, a groundhog,/ a found little/ roundhog,” the artist shows the dog approaching the startled rodent, and the two soon make friends: “Around, round hound./ Around, groundhog!” The animals play, the words play, and the faster the creatures circle, scamper, and bound, the more mixed up the words get (“A greyhog,/ a ground dog,/ a hog little hound dog”). Appelhans paints the dog and hog cavorting through an idyllic world (“Astound!” Jenkins exclaims, as they surprise a group of butterflies), and their adventure celebrates the sounds of words, the lure of rhythm, and the joy of movement. Ages 3–7. Illustrator’s agent: Judith Hansen, Hansen Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"But what Emily Jenkins and Chris Appelhans’ lyrical collaboration is really about is the intoxicating thrill of friendship, and boundless joy of play..." –The New York Times

A “merry read-aloud.” –The Wall Street Journal

"This delightful story is a feast for the eyes and ears, and it will hold up well to repeated demands from eager young listeners."— Kirkus, starred review

"Dedicated to picture book icon Ruth Krauss, this elegant pas de deux between two unlikely creatures recalls the sense of uninhibited play that Krauss brought to her own work." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A lovely, lyrical paean to the natural order, with an element of wonder and grace. Perfect for one-on-one and group sharing." — School Library Journal, starred review

"Appelhans's watercolor illustrations are both adorable and artful, and the fluid style beautifully complements Jenkins's story of unlikely friendship, joyful rambunctiousness and wordplay." — Shelf Awareness, starred review

"This unusual duo will make a heartwarming addition to any read-aloud collection." — Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

★ 11/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—In a picture book that demands to be read aloud, a greyhound and a groundhog spin in visual and verbal circles. A limited gray and brown watercolor palette—and an equally limited selection of consonant and vowel sounds—characterize this phonologically clever, fundamentally joyful, and subtly unified picture book. Words, text, and creatures begin in simple lines (the words "A hound. A round hound" are printed in a straight line above a sleeping greyhound on the first page), but all three increasingly start to rotate (the sentence, "The ground and a hog and some grey and a dog" later curves around the page, accompanied by a whirling, tongue-lolling canine). Just as readers grow accustomed to the muted colors and tongue twisters ("Around, round hound/Around, groundhog!"), both begin to change: "around and around" becomes "and astound" as the greyhound—fully facing readers for the first time—notices one butterfly, and then more, come into the visual field, bringing with them the latent pinks, blues, and purples that an observant viewer will have seen hiding in the grays all along. The butterflies soon fly off the edge of the page, but the amazement lingers as the eponymous animals, finally worn out, settle in for a nap…accompanied by newly restraightened, resimplified text. VERDICT A lovely, lyrical paean to the natural order, with an element of wonder and grace. Perfect for one-on-one and group sharing.—Jill Ratzan, Congregation Kol Emet, Yardley, PA

School Library Journal

★ 2016-09-19
Friendship blossoms between canine and rodent in this paean to the sheer joy of being alive. A greyhound and a groundhog are startled to meet, one waking from a nap and the other popping out of a burrow. Before long, however, they are frolicking together, romping about and running through meadows before finally collapsing in satisfied fatigue. Jenkins playful text (A round hound, a grey dog, a round little hound dog. / A greyhog, a ground dog, a hog little hound dog) has a catchy rhythm that begs to be read out loud. The text dances across the page, perfectly in sync with the watercolor pictures; on one page the line and a sound hovers beside the splash created by the greyhounds foot, its curvature visually echoing the arc of the water. By varying perspective and distance, Appelhans creates dynamic, high-energy illustrations that maintain interest despite featuring only two characters against a plain, minimalist background. Readers look down on the two friends from above as they spin in giddy circles and see them in comical close-up as a butterfly flits past. Groundhog bursts from the end of a hollow log, paws outstretched, about to soar above the heads of readers, who have a ground-level view of the action. This delightful story is a feast for the eyes and ears, and it will hold up well to repeated demands from eager young listeners. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews