Stanley's Beauty Contest

by Linda Bailey, Bill Slavin (Illustrator)

Overview

Stanley's people are so preoccupied with primping him for the dog show in the park that they forgot his breakfast. This makes Stanley very grumpy. At the park, Stanley meets up with his old friends Nutsy, Alice and Gassy Jack. Together the friends look longingly at the grand prize: the biggest, most scrumptious-smelling dog cookie ever. Once Stanley gets a whiff of its bubbling cheese, sizzling bacon and apple pie aromas, he's determined to win. So what if he's not the fastest, most talented or most beautiful dog in the show? We know that Stanley's rumbling tummy always leads him into adventure — or a big pile of trouble — and this time is no exception. Join Stanley and his friends in the best dogpile ever as they show us humans that dogs know best, and that what really counts is having fun!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554533183
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	02/28/2009
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Linda Bailey is an award-winning author of many books for children, including Goodnight Sweet Pig, Stanley's Party, the Stevie Diamond Mysteries, and the Good Times Travel Agency series. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Bill Slavin is an award-winning children's book illustrator with over 50 books to his credit. His works include Stanley's Party and The Bear on the Bed He lives in Millbrook, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

Stanley's many fans will love poring over this adventure.—School Library Journal

Stanley is an expressive and appealing pooch whose heart is always in the right place.—Kirkus Reviews

Stanley has lost none of his energetic appeal in this, his fourth adventure.—Quill & Quire

From the Publisher

Stanley has lost none of his energetic appeal in this, his fourth adventure.

Quill &Quire

Stanley has lost none of his energetic appeal in this, his fourth adventure.

Quill & Quire

K-Gr 2

In this fourth book about Stanley, the dog's family takes him to the park for a competition. All of the dogs are wary of these proceedings, but when a woman walks by with the prizes-three large, still-warm-from-the-oven dog biscuits-the pups all decide to participate. Stanley is sure he'll finish first in the Fastest Dog event, but a whippet is the winner. Stanley's only chance is the Most Beautiful category. When the judges walk right by him, his owners take him out of the running. He sees the last prize sitting on a table and figures he deserves at least a lick of that biscuit. The table falls, and 37 dogs descend on the treat. As they roll and rumble, they have a great time, but the pageant is in shambles. At home, Stanley's people realize that they forgot to give him his breakfast and fuss over him. The illustrations, done in acrylic on gessoed paper, are large, colorful, and lively. Stanley's many fans will love poring over this adventure.-Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI

School Library Journal

Bailey and Slavin continue their canine-themed collaboration with this fourth entry in their series about Stanley the mischievous yellow lab. This time he is entered by "his people" in a local dog contest, much to his dismay. The frantic preparations for the contest lead to the unhappy dog missing his breakfast and suffering the indignity of a bath with banana-scented shampoo. Stanley and his canine companions find the contest ludicrous, but the prizes are enticing: large, bone-shaped biscuits in mouthwatering flavors. Poor Stanley watches other dogs win in each category, carrying off the delectable biscuit rewards one by one. When Stanley tries to nibble on the last prize, he upsets the awards table and his antics lead to an entirely predictable, if comical doggy disaster. Though the story is rather slight, Slavin's acrylic paintings in a muted palette bring considerable charm and humor to the dogs of widely varying breeds and sizes. Stanley is an expressive and appealing pooch whose heart is always in the right place. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews