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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
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33607002247834 | Picture Books | DEWDNEY | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Gloria was glum and grumpy
Out of sorts.
Sad and lumpy.
A brand-new doll?
It's time to pout!
Gloria felt so left out.
Poor Gloria the bulldog thinks she has lost her best friend when the little girl who owns her receives a doll as a birthday present. Suddenly the girl Gloria does everything with now does everything with her new doll! But Gloria can't exactly tell anyone why she's upset, so the girl's brother and sister figure that Gloria just needs some cheering up. Maybe a bath? Or a game of dress-up? Or a bike ride? Things go from silly to hysterical, but in the end Gloria is happily reunited with her best friend.
Author Notes
Anna Dewdney was born in New York City on December 25, 1965. She received a bachelor's degree in art from Wesleyan University in 1987. Before becoming a full-time author and illustrator, she worked as a waitress, a rural mail carrier, a daycare provider, and taught at a boys' boarding school for many years.
Her children's book career began in 1994 with her artwork for The Peppermint Race by Dian Curtis Regan. She went on to illustrate other children's chapter books in the 1990s. In 2005, the first picture book she both wrote and illustrated, Llama, Llama Red Pajama, was published. Her other books include Nobunny's Perfect, Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too, Little Excavator, and 10 more books in the Llama Llama series. She died after a 15-month battle with brain cancer on September 3, 2016.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-In this sweet story, a bulldog feels replaced when her young owner gets a doll for her birthday, and cannot be comforted by the other two children in the family. Unfortunately, the text is composed of singsong rhymes, mostly lists of single words rather than full sentences, which often seem awkward and do not scan well. Charming little vignettes on the endpapers show the canine and the little girl in happier times: Gloria pulls her in a wagon, watches intently as she blows bubbles, and looks content when she is being petted. Throughout the story, the pup's expressions exude attitude, but the siblings' faces seem a little static even as their body movements capture the action. In several places, the very tops of the children's heads are cut off, creating visuals that look as if the artist ran out of space. Large illustrations done in rich, bright colors are great for viewing at a distance, and the text, if read aloud, could be given expression. Preschoolers will laugh at Gloria's antics and undoubtedly sympathize with her feelings. However, while the author's Llama, Llama Red Pajama (Viking, 2005) is a surefire winner, this effort is an additional purchase.-Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
With a delightfully fresh take on the time-proven theme about a family member who feels displaced by a new arrival, Dewdney (Llama, Llama Red Pajama) features a jowly bulldog named Gloria. When the youngest child receives a new doll for her birthday, Gloria is definitely "glum and grumpy./ Out of sorts./ Sad and lumpy." The two older siblings do everything they can to cajole her (while the youngest plays with her doll). They give her a chew, new toys and a brushing, take her for a walk and dress her up in play clothes, but "sullen, scowly, sulky, slumpy.../ Gloria was staying grumpy." Dewdney portrays Gloria's hilariously tragic emotions with ?lan. The dog's brows are furrowed, her nose is wrinkled, and her jaw is rigid, but her indignation and crabbiness never make her less lovable. Readers will figure out the cause before the pair of siblings does; and when Gloria gets bumped from a bicycle basket into the doll's baby buggy, her mood substantially improves. The humor of the book comes through not only in Gloria's facial expressions but also in the lilting descriptions of her feelings. Cleverly, the front endpapers feature the two friends playing together, while the back endpapers add the new doll joining in the same games. The lively descriptions and amusing rhymes will make this a favorite for toddlers who feel left out. Ages 2-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved