Following Do You Have a Hat? (2004) and Do You Have a Cat? (2010), this sunny, lightly historical endeavor profiles 11 famous people who owned dogs. Though many of the relationships are fairly passive (Billie Holiday's dog Mister liked to hear his owner sing), the best are more action oriented: Empress Josephine Bonaparte / had a dog a pug, sometimes a go-between / delivering notes from Josephine / tucked under his collar so none could see / what she had written secretly. The acrylics are bright and unflaggingly smiley, while endpapers give further detail on each historical figure mentioned.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist

Behind every great man or woman, there's a great dog, suggests this rhyming canine tribute, which follows the format of Do You Have a Cat? and Do You Have a Hat? Figures like Agatha Christie, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jackson Pollock, and Annie Oakley were all dog owners: "Billie Holiday had a dog/ who sat backstage as he was told./ A dog named Mister-good as gold." Young readers itching for a furry friend will find only the benefits of dog ownership in Spinelli's buoyant verse and Valerio's cheerful acrylics. Endpapers provide further details about the historical figures mentioned within. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 2-4-Spinelli takes 11 famous individuals and their dogs and presents their stories in brief, rhymed text. Meriwether Lewis, Billie Holiday, Agatha Christie, and Jackson Pollock are among the celebs included. Each entry starts and ends with the person's name, followed by the phrase, "had a dog." The endpapers give additional information about the owners and their pets. The illustrations feature unattractive, elongated figures with wide cheeks and big noses. The eyes of the humans and the animals are flat and a little startling. There are some whimsical touches in each painting-Empress Josephine's pug is dressed like Napoleon, and Admiral Byrd's dog is sleeping with a miniature version of himself. Marginal at best.-Susan E. Murray, formerly at Glendale Public Library, AZ (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

you?"--but the meat and potatoes of the book are dogs of the famous. And by far the most interesting material is found in the end papers, where Spinelli has introduced the 11 historical figures with their dogs. It is the pages in between that are often less than beguiling. "Iggy--who kept Byrd warm, / a comfort in Antarctic storm. / Through blizzard, ice, and wild weather / the two holed up, good friends together." And of Agatha Christie's dog Peter, readers learn, "He on the rug and she in the chair-- / they made a rather cozy pair." The poems are too bland for these couples, who should have set off some sparks of clever allusion or strange factoid. As the poems are quatrains--plus introductory and closing refrain--you really have to use all the few words you've got, and here Spinelli doesn't. Despite inherently child-friendly subject matter, a nonstarter. (Informational picture book. 4-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.