DO YOUR EARS HANG LOW?

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Two sweet and silly, floppy-eared puppies make friends and bounce their way through this fresh, fun-filled interpretation of a familiar and much-loved children's song! Includes a fold-out, heartfelt surprise at the end!

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Church (Hungry Hen) pictures two long-eared pups' playful romp in this reprise of a ridiculously catchy rhyme. Beginning with the title line, "Do your ears hang low?," a brown hound strolls up a hill alone. In the next spread, "Do they wobble to and fro?," a gray-spotted dog approaches from the other direction. When the dogs see one another, their ribbony ears fly up in surprise and become tangled ("Can you tie them in a knot?/ Can you tie them in a bow?"). They play a shy game of hide-and-seek to a second verse of "Do your ears hang high?/ Do they reach up to the sky?" Ultimately, a gatefold opens to show the new friends cheek-to-cheek, shaping a heart with their plume-like ears. The sequence concludes with instructions for hand gestures to accompany the song, and leaves the musical accompaniment to experienced singers. Church draws in a thick, squiggly black line on paper made from torn newsprint and flower petals. Her innocuous artwork and use of a familiar chant will suit any sing-along occasion, and her theme would endear her to the star of the equally comical Dog Eared (reviewed January 14). Ages 2-up. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

PreS-An attractive version of the well-known song. Many readers will be unfamiliar with the second verse, but it's just as nonsensical as the first. Two cartoon pups-one brown, one white-demonstrate the lyrics with their long floppy ears. They frolic in fields strewn with posies and the last foldout page reveals their long ears extended upward and intertwined to form a heart. Final pages show how youngsters can use hand motions to act out the verse. There is no musical score. Supplemental fun.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

This interpretation of the childrenÆs folksong features two apparently love-struck puppies. While the long-eared dogs and their antics are mildly amusing, they add little dimension to the well-known text. The fun foldout surprise advertised on the cover is disappointing, but finger-play instructions are included at the back. From HORN BOOK Fall 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Two puppies frolic through the rhymes and rhythms of the traditional song as they meet with eyebrows raised expectantly and their long ears "wobble to and fro." Outlined in black, red cut-paper heart shapes are suspended romantically above their heads, and like dancers stepping to the same tune, they buoyantly play through the two verses. Mimicking the motion of the text, sometimes facing and sometimes side by side, tails up and wagging, Church presents their musical moment in bold acrylics dashed with texture: sand, print, grass, and petals. Culminating in a climactic gatefold picture of beaming flushed puppies, they reach their penultimate joy by tying their ears into a heart-shaped bow. Her first foray into music in a picture-book format ultimately would be more effective if accompanied by sheet music, but a two-page move-along section suggests how children could enact the verses with a partner. Church has produced other useful materials mainly for the young children's-book market in Great Britain, but is known most recently for her knock-'em-dead illustrations for Richard Waring's Hungry Hen (p.1555). Welcome new images for this once sarcastic lyric. (Nonfiction. 3-5)