I’m currently working on a picture book about dogs–shocking, I know–and so thought I’d read Always in Trouble, a 2004 picture book by Corinne Demas (illustrated by Noah Z. Jones).
I’m glad I did. It was a pleasure. Demas does a good job with picture book structure, using both the days of the week and repetition patterns to guide readers through Toby’s adventures.
Toby, by the way, is Emma’s dog, and he’s always in trouble. He’s clearly durpy, and Emma clearly loves him.
The art is (intentionally) cartoonish, but the design is fairly subtle: people get shadows, pages hold multiple images, and figures move from one color to another with ease. Good illustration.
There’s only limited message here, except, perhaps, to accept that dogs will get in trouble sometimes. And you should love them anyway.
