Like millions of others, I love Mo Willems‘ pigeon books. In fact, that’s what I thought of when I heard his name. I had never heard of his 2010 picture book City Dog, Country Frog until I stumbled across it in my library. Boy, am I glad I did.
The pigeon books are pure chaotic fun. This book, though, is more. It is skillfully paced and structured, and it was serious and sad.
The premise is picture book simple: a city dog goes for a leash-free run on his first day in the country, and eventually spies a country frog. The two become friends, and Country Frog teaches City Dog how to play in the country, or at least, how to play his kind of splashy fun. “That was spring.” Jon J Muth’s illustrations capture the motion and pure joy of these animal friends wonderfully.
In summer, City Dog teaches his friend his games, which involve things like throwing and fetching.
Willems never explains why we get one surge of interaction per season, but I assume the dog’s human has entered into some situation that brings them to the country regularly. City Dog returns in fall, and Country Frog is tired, so they play “remembering games,” which are much quieter. This worked well as foreshadowing, because I got scared.
In winter, City Dog goes to Country Frog’s rock, the same place they’ve met before. And he’s alone. Willems never says, but clearly, Country Frog has died. City Dog sit s in the snow and waits. Alone. Looking in all directions. And my heart ached.
I am of two minds about the book’s ending. I assumed we would end with this broken heart, which clearly crushed the dog…but come spring, City Dog becomes friends with Country Chipmunk, starting their friendship with “a froggy smile” and the same words Country Frog had used with him.
This book’s pacing is amazing, and the way it handles death without naming it is moving.
Lovely. Highly recommended.
