Simon the Pointer: 9a Story

Simon, a beloved dog, is the protagonist of this short inspirational adult fable, which debut writer Brown uses to illustrate some fundamental truths about living life fully and nobly. Skirting the pitfalls of sentimentality, she has written a surprisingly moving story. ""Simon... became a hero, although... he accomplished only a little in the world,'' Brown begins, and she goes on to chronicle, tersely but poetically, the simple life of a typical dog from puppyhood through maturity to death from a failing heart. In Simon's life, she finds lessons for humans. Though dogs access their courage instinctively, people can display similar good breeding ""when we expect nothing else of life than the love we get for being what we are,"" Brown says. The book is elegantly designed, with only a few sentences on each page; more than 20 of Williams's handsome drawings are interspersed, several on full-page spreads. Though sometimes the anthropomorphic descriptions of Simon's emotions are cloying (""He wondered if this would go on forever.... He was afraid of becoming a dependent dog''), Brown generally writes with restraint, intelligence and quiet humor. The understated valediction will undoubtedly move dog lovers and inspiration seekers alike. (May)