Fabian Escapes

Hondo and Fabian, dog and cat friends, are back. Here, their days take very different looks as Fabian the cat goes outside to play with “friends” while Hondo stays in with the baby. Softly lined and hued illustrations create humor to show what really goes on with an escaped cat and a dog-chasing toddler!

Book lists this appears on

Themed Booklist

Holiday Buying Guide 2007

Other books by this author

Henry in Love

Peter McCarty

Age Level:

3-6

Genre:

Fiction

Hondo is a dog, and Fabian is a cat. As the family pets, they get along just fine, but their lives are quite different. Hondo gets to go to the beach; Fabian has to stay home, though he still manages to have some fun. Little ones will enjoy following Hondo as he runs through the waves, and Fabian, who makes his own good times by playing with the little girl of the house and unrolling the toilet paper. McCarty’s staccato text, one line to a page, captures a lot of action in a few words, but it is the pencil-on-watercolor-paper art that makes this so arresting. Each carefully shaded picture, in muted tones, has a smooth, solid look that is quite different from the art seen in numerous other picture books, where cartoons often reign supreme. The pictures here are sophisticated by comparison, but they have just as much child appeal as more raucous artwork. In addition, the message about making fun where one finds it is worth hearing.