Another Wee Review


Gimlet reviews "Harry the Dirty Dog" with help from Nigel.



Gimlet: Once again, our Doggie Dad suggested a book to us. We read it yesterday, after our walk and before our dinner. The book is "Harry the Dirty Dog" by Gene Zion with illustrations by Margaret Bloy Graham. This is about a very fetching white dog with black spots named Harry, who, through the alchemy of dirt, becomes a black dog with white spots.
Nigel: He has an aversion to baths, just like you do, Gimlet.
Gimlet: I may not like baths, but I get them all the same. I enjoy playing in the water and rolling in dirt, though.
Nigel: So what about Harry?
Gimlet: Harry, without giving away too much of the plot ... Harry takes a vow of bath-and-scrubbing brush abstinence ...
Nigel: Just say that he refuses to take his bath and buries his scrubbing brush.
Gimlet: Your brother's name is Harry, right?
Nigel: Yes. My brother is Harry Ginsberg, and he lives in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Gimlet: May we see a photo of Harry?
Nigel: Here's a photo of me and Harry at our last reunion. This was taken at the end of October, 1999, in Harry's yard in Poughkeepsie. That's Harry on the left and me on the right.


Gimlet: You can see the family resemblance.
Nigel: Well, it's been said that Harry was the beauty of the family and I was the brains. Harry's a great guy,
Gimlet: What happened with you and Harry? Why is his last name Ginsberg when yours is Prescott? Why does he live in New York while you live in Florida?
Nigel: That's a story I'll tell some other time.
Gimlet: So Harry, the dirty one, buried his scrubbing brush, ran away, got really dirty on many adventures ... You have to read it!
Nigel: The illustrations capture the terrier character, and with just the sparest of lines. Some fine art going on here.
Gimlet: There are three other Harry books in the series. I want them all.
Nigel: You always do.









Posted: Mon - July 14, 2003 at 05:39 PM          

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