Butterfly and Oscar

Tricia Oktober
Ford St Publishing
ISBN: 9781925000511           RRP: $24.95

Oscar, one of six family dachshunds, befriends new-comer Butterfly. Their encounters are both endearing and a tad sentimental, with one particularly amusing. Butterfly sees a strange dog at the window and her barking sets off all the dackels. An unhappy owner shows Butterfly to herself in a mirror; for the first time she realises she (a pug) is different from her companions and other quaint identity problems arise. The text drifts into a little anthropomorphism at this point, but devoted pet lovers will forgive that. The marvellous hyper-realistic illustrations are done in coloured pencils and watercolours; but not photographically so, leaving room to develop the warmth and affection between the protagonist pets, and the reader. Pet loving children will adore this story.