I Want 100 Dogs
by Stacy McAnulty; illus. by Claire Keane
Preschool, Primary    Chronicle    40 pp.
10/23    9781797214405    $17.99

When a young girl says she’d like one hundred dogs, her dad logically asks where they would all sleep. The following spread shows her vision (dogs tucked comfortably into bed next to her) alongside her parents’ vision (dogs sleeping uncomfortably on top of her). Convinced, the girl agrees to ninety dogs. “But how would you walk 90 dogs?” Again, two very different pictures are conjured—one where the girl holds many leashes while sitting jauntily atop the largest dog and one where the dogs drag her along at top speed. McAnulty (Excellent Ed, rev. 5/16) continues the pattern as each time ten fewer dogs are involved. Keane’s (illustrator of Make Way, rev. 3/23) loose lines and lively compositions show the opposing viewpoints in comedic scenes of dog bliss (dogs bathing in a large swimming pool) versus dog chaos (dogs piled up in the girl’s wading pool). All the bases are covered—feeding, naming, training, vet visiting, grooming, and playing. Down to ten dogs and it’s finally time to address a different number—the number two. There’s no pretty picture here, as all involved imagine the same stinky scenario. “I think I’d like 1 dog. Please,” the girl says, and one she gets. The humor continues on the final spread, as Dad says to Mom, “I can’t believe we talked her out of 100 dogs,” while the girl, tucked in bed with her happy pup, says, “I can’t believe I talked them into getting 1 dog.” It’s winner takes all here—or maybe just one.

From the November/December 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.