Bailey's Day: 06/17/10

Bailey's of Bailey's Day is a humane society rescue dog. Her owner and the author of her picture book story, Robert Haggerty, is a mailman. On the Bailey's Day website, the author explains the inspiration behind the book.

The book takes Bailey through a typical day where she goes on adventures in and around her neighborhood while her owner is out delivering mail. She plays with a lizard, a neighbor dog, goes exploring and for a swim. The problem with having a mailman for an owner in a small town is he's close enough to home to catch Bailey during her misadventures.

At the back of the book there are photographs showing the real Bailey, her friends (including the lizard) and the places she likes to explore. Harriet especially loved making the connection between the picture book dog and the real dog.

A few of the reviews I've read complain that the book doesn't drive home the moral of obedience. When Bailey's taken home she isn't exactly punished and she doesn't exactly look apologetic about disobeying. My kids came away with a message of unconditional love, rather than obedience. Yes, Bailey's hard to handle but she doesn't get hurt and she doesn't cause problems. She's not much different than my own children who are now old enough to explore between the houses with the neighbor kids.

My one misgiving with the book is the play between the illustrations and the text. There needs to be better integration between the two. Sometimes the illustrations are obscured by a swatch of color to make room for the words. It looks slap-dash and it distracts from an otherwise delightful book reading experience.

I received the book for review.

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