Gr 1-3 Caesar is a white dog with black spots. Or maybe he's a black dog with white spots. He's not sure, and his preoccupation with this dilemma is at the heart of this book. The pup seeks advice from other animals like him, including a black-and-white cat, a spotted pony, and a circus zebra. He even meditates on a soccer ball, wondering if he will ever have a definitive answer. In the end, each animal provides a small piece of a puzzle that is finally completed by a lollipop-sucking circus guru, and Caesar comes to realize that what's inside him is more important than what's outside. The concept that individuals cannot be defined in terms of black and white seems obvious to adults, but will be too subtle for young readers. Caesar's soul-searching takes too long to reach fruition, and why he is worrying about his appearance at all is a mystery; no one else is concerned about either his or their own. While children will enjoy the illustrations of the big, friendly spotted dog and the various cheerful animals he encounters, the verbose text will alienate them long before Caesar finds his answer. For books about being comfortable in one's own skin, revisit Jamie Lee Curtis's "I'm Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem" (HarperCollins, 2002) or Helen Lester's "Tacky the Penguin" (Houghton, 1988)."Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MA" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
New ed., 1978, McGraw Hill. Caesar the dog is "very worried" because he doesn't know if he's white with black spots or black with white spots. His search for self-definition leads to the understanding that it's what's on the inside that matters most. Inescapable racial overtones dominate the text-heavy story, and not even Friend's cheerful gouache illustrations lighten the load.
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