Remy and Lulu

K-Gr 3—This is a delightful story that must be viewed and read several times to capture all of its wonderful details, humor, and charm. Remy is an artist who paints "the essence of a person, not their likeness," no doubt because of his very poor eyesight. Lulu is a Jack Russell-type dog who becomes Remy's traveling companion, but Lulu happens to be an artist as well. When Remy sets up his huge canvasses to paint a portrait, Lulu draws a miniature portrait down along the bottom of the canvas at Lulu height, but Lulu's subjects are the animals that each poser has with him or her. While Remy's portraits are quite abstract and usually integrate some of the pet's features into the image of the sitter, Lulu creates finely detailed portraitures of the pets with extravagant clothing reminiscent of their owner. The patrons are astonished at Lulu's talent, and the duo become solvent, as well as the talk of the town. It is only when one patron, an optometrist, gives Remy a new pair of spectacles that Remy "sees" why his popularity has taken a sharp upturn. The result is utter despondence until an invitation comes their way that gives both a new perspective. Reminiscent of Peggy Rathmann's Officer Buckle and Gloria (Putnam, 1995), the dog is the one with the crowd-pleasing talent, while the human remains oblivious for a time. Children and adults will enjoy giving the two types of paintings a close look and picking up the subtle humor in each. Hawkes has done the illustrations for the story, but Harrison is credited for creating Lulu's miniatures. The contrast of the two types of illustration is what make this book so clever.—Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID