Bicycling to the Moon

Gr 3–6—Barker is a thoughtful, practical, hard-working dog. Purdy is a temperamental, impractical, lazy cat. Incompatible? By no means. These two are best friends and share a little house on a hill by a lake. This charming episodic tale introduces these characters by the much-beloved Finnish children's author Parvela, capably translated by Urbom. Barker enjoys doing the chores that come with each season and with owning a beloved home. Every now and then, however, he just has to be a dog. He will get the sudden urge to howl and howl, or bury something, or chew on one of his gardening gloves. Purdy's whims are far more fanciful; he tries to ride a bicycle up a moonbeam. He believes he is a beautiful singer and plans to enter a singing contest even though his caterwauling drives poor Barker mad. Although they sometimes fight, these two friends always make up. They understand each other and value each other's differences. Talvitie's amusing illustrations add immeasurably to the text.