Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2299137 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Customer Reviews

Classic Style of Storytelling & More Fun than a Carnival
This is a wonderful tale and a beautiful book, one I am thrilled to add to my collection of children's books to cherish and read again. Frannie and Pickles is truly a significant contribution to modern children's literature, yet the author has a classic style of storytelling comparable to that of Beatrix Potter and L. Frank Baum.

The story of best friends, a woman and a dog, switching places for the day is zany and amazing fun. I loved their adventures. And I love how a great book makes me feel. This story reminded me of many book and movie adventures I enjoyed in childhood. After reading this story, I found myself reminiscing about great Disney films like The Parent Trap, The Apple Dumpling Gang, and The Jungle Book. I also found myself thinking about wonderful books I read growing up like The Brave Little Tailor, Johnny Appleseed, Rikki Tikki Tavi, and for some reason, Oliver Twist. I believe Mr. McClear's fantastic ability to tell a good story brought about my fond memories of these classic tales.

Great literature is very powerful and has the ability to make us laugh, cry, and reminisce. Frannie and Pickles does all of these things. I am looking forward to reading it again.

J.H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles

The Old Switcheroo!!
My children always loved humorous books more than any others. When the humorous books were enhanced by illustrations that improved the humor, the pleasure was even better. Underneath the humor, the author and illustrator could share some profound insights . . . and these would be quickly absorbed by each child. When the book was sophisticated in its perspective, I enjoyed reading and rereading the book as well.

I was delighted to see that Frannie & Pickles is an outstanding example of what I have admired most in children's books, as I described above.

If you've ever watched dogs and their owners, I'm sure you've been struck by how often they look alike. Frannie & Pickles takes that observation into a new direction: What if dogs and their owners start by behave like each other?

Frannie, an older woman, "loved being with Pickles most out of her many friends." She fed him breakfast in a dog dish on her kitchen table while he sat in a chair. He rode on the back of her bicycle while she steered and peddled. She dressed him up in clothes, just like a doll. Pickles had a smaller version of Frannie's bed, next to her. Frannie read him stories at night and tucked him into bed. Pickles often curled up in Frannie's lap in front of the roaring fireplace.

"One day Frannie and Pickles were having tea. Frannie said. 'Pickles, darling. I sure do feel odd.'

Frannie lapped up the rest of her tea." And so the fun begins. Frannie is next out sniffing rose bushes on all fours, then hanging out of the car window with her tongue extended while Pickles drives. Frannie grows a beard, and Pickles shaves her. The two chase a cat up the Ginkgo tree. They both chase after the mailman. Pickles beat Frannie at bridge. Frannie beat Pickles at Frisbee fetching (she can catch it in her teeth). When evening came, Pickles read Frannie a story.

"Frannie drifted off to sleep thinking that good friends do come in all shapes and sizes."

As you can see, the book is subtle in that Frannie becomes totally dog-like while Pickles can be either a dog or a human. It's a very dog-centric story without going as far as a Clifford book.

The illustrations are wonderfully detailed and add story elements that the text cannot capture. While the text says that Frannie was better at fetching Frisbees than Pickles, the illustration shows her catching with her teeth while Pickles throws with his paw. You would need three times as many words to tell the same story and it wouldn't work as well for a child. There are also little elements that the text doesn't refer to at all. For instance, there are very funny mouse creatures in many of the interior scenes. The bottom of the mail man's shoe says "Skids." Children will enjoy seeking out these extra humorous elements. The rich colors and subtle shading of the illustrations will also help children appreciate the potential of cartoons.

As I finished the story, I realized that there's no reason for people not to act more like their dogs. After all, dogs usually seem a lot happier than people. It makes me laugh just to think about acting more like Pickles.