cover image Dogs of the World: 
Kit and Willy’s Ultimate Guidebooks to Everything!

Dogs of the World: Kit and Willy’s Ultimate Guidebooks to Everything!

Zebedee Helm. Korero/Pucci (IPG/Trafalgar Sq., dist.), $14.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-9560284-3-3

It won’t take readers long to realize that Helm’s tour of 14 breeds of dogs doesn’t take itself (or its subject) seriously. Narration is provided by a cowboy hat–wearing boy named Kit, who profiles sheep dogs, dalmatians, huskies, and more. “Labradors... come in three colours: black, yellow and chocolate. Obviously the chocolate ones are the rarest as a lot get eaten and those that don’t, quite often, melt in the sun,” reads a typical entry. Chaotically scribbled captions and none-too-scientific illustrations amplify the off-kilter sensibility. The irreverent humor, though, occasionally turns tasteless: Afghan hounds are bored because “everyone [in Afghanistan] is too busy fighting” to walk them, and the pekingese spread includes a cheap joke about eating dogs. Ages 5–7. (June)