Three Names

This is a lovely, lovely book that I hope you will not miss. Before the first page is even turned, this book has a couple of things going for it. It was selected as A Charlotte Zolotow Book and is in fact dedicated to that beloved and talented children's author. It was written by the Newbery Medal winning author of the beloved and moving Sara, Plain and Tall. Three Names is the name of a dog who wanders into the life of the author's great grandfather in his youth out on the prairie. They become the best of friends and the book traces their day to day, seasonal adventures out among the fields of prairie grass and wheat, paintbrush and bluegrass. The lyrical text transports us back to those days and we are given a clear window on the world of prairie life of a bygone era. Three Names goes to school with great-grandfather every day and in recounting the daily lives of the two friends this book paints a sunfilled picture of simple friendship that makes life all the more enjoyable. Alexander Pertzoff's beautiful watercolors are my favorite part of this wonderful book. Whether he has painted a dark and menacing tornado or the inside of a one room school house festooned with colorful paper chains for Christmas, he captures the ambiance and mood perfectly and transports us there. Three Names, a simple mixed-breed, plain brown dog with two white feet is painted so realistically, his joyful canine spirit captured so faithfully that you have to take a second look to make sure you didn't actually see his expressive tail wagging. Whether you choose it for a nostalgic slice of Americana or for a heart-warming dog story, I think you'll be well pleased.

But I won't tell you *why* the dog should actually be called Four Names! This is a peaceful story about a boy's grandfather and his life on the prairie around the turn of the century or earlier with his golden dog Three Names. Going to school in a one-room schoolhouse is described. Illustrated with lovely watercolors--nice technique, almost impressionist-looking. The illustrations are perfect for a picture book. Wholesome. The content seems very different from other books by MacLachlan.