Alfie Is Not Afraid

Dog Alfie's young owner claims Alfie isn't afraid of anything, which is why they're going camping: "Just the two of us. Alone in the wild." Readers can clearly see, however, that the little black-and-white pup is the opposite of "not afraid." The loyal friendship between spindly-limbed boy and sturdy, low-to-the-ground dog is apparent in text and pictures on every amusing page.

According to the young boy who owns him, Alfie the dog is not afraid of anything, which is why they’re going to camp out: "Just the two of us. Alone in the wild." As they head to the backyard tent, the boy gets specific about what Alfie isn’t afraid of, and here is where the giggling will start. Unlike Alfie’s owner, the audience can clearly see that the little black-and-white pup is in fact the polar opposite of "not afraid." Thought bubbles fill the pages as wide-eyed Alfie reacts to the boy’s list, imagining himself being carried off by army ants, swallowed whole by a boa constrictor, and stuck fast in the center of a poisonous spider’s web. Those images are as silly as they need to be (the marching army ants wear tiny green helmets; Alfie, hiding, gets praised for checking the sleeping bag for snakes), and the loyal friendship between spindly-limbed boy and sturdy, low-to-the-ground dog is apparent in text and pictures on every amusing page. When a mysterious thunk (acorn, not space alien) sends Alfie tearing back inside the house, the boy, minus his brave companion, decides to hightail it, too. As the pair snuggles in bed, readers will spot the toys that inspired the imagined foes -- along with the boy’s drawing of Alfie as a superhero (confirming that our narrator is more biased than unreliable). Don’t miss the final page, in which Alfie dreams he has bested that fearsome boa. jennifer m. brabander