A review by brucefarrar
Black Dog by Levi Pinfold

5.0

A large black dog appears outside the Hope family house in the woods one snowy morning. Mr. Hope the first to see it is so alarmed that he drops his breakfast (much to the delight of the family cats) on the floor and shouts that he calls the police to tell them that it’s as big as a tiger! Next Mrs. Hope sees it out the window and proclaims it to be the size of an elephant. As the older Hope children awake, the dog gets bigger and bigger until the whole family is cringing under the covers in fear. The one small exception to the general panic is “the youngest member of the Hope family, called Small (for short).” Small Hope bundles herself up in her winter ware and boldly steps outside to confront the Black Dog, who is the illustration has indeed grown to enormous proportions. She then leads it on a playful chase through the snowy landscape taunting it “'You can’t follow where I go, unless you shrink, or don’t you know?'” And after leading it on a chase through the woods, across a frozen pond, and though a playground, she leads it back home. By now, the dog has shrunk to size so small that it can follow Small through the cat flap on the front door. Small claps a laundry basket atop the now dog sized former monster and presents it triumphantly to her relieved family.

Pinfold’s tempera paintings are filled with delightful details, to be discovered on rereading, for which there are sure to many demands from young listeners. There’s also a delightful contrast between the cool outdoor colors and the warm tomes inside the house.