Pushkin sure Pushes my Buttons!

Pushkin Meets the Bundle by Harriet M. Ziefert and illustrated by Donald Saaf. This is a great team. The pictures are both classic and naive with a sprinkle of sweet. The story is quaint and ripe with emotion but straightforward without bein sickeningly perfect and pat.

The story begins with a dog wearing a sweater doing a handstand, the text reads, "I am Pushkin." This puppy is spoiled and happy, he has a child size bed with a bedside table and lamp and each night owner Kate says "Sweet dreams" and owner Michael says "Sleep tight, big boy," "We love you"....Aawwwww.

Until one day they come home with A BUNDLE. What a delightful way to describe a baby. That's really all it is to a younger sibling. Exactly, he or she is an "it" and everything changes. Pushkin thinks of running away. "Kate stays home. She pats the baby, but she doesn't pat me."

Things obviously worked out, because today I picked up Pushkin minds the Bundle which is even more fun! Pushkin's imperfections are endearing. When berry picking with "the bundle" (now a toddler) they eat lots of berries, and "Sometimes Pierre gets just the one I want. And we fight." -- the illustration depicts a dog wearing boots and a backpack pushing a little boy who is flinging a berry over his head. The little rascals! All in all, the absurdity is lovely, especially when Pushkin plays the guitar and notes that "Michael and Kate like my melancholy tunes." Nevermind the bundle, I need to get myself a Pushkin!