Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

An amiable showcase for McCarty's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Little Bunny on the Move) distinctive pencil art, this day-in-the-life tale centers on a dog and cat who live with a family, the only member of which readers see is a cherubic toddler referred to as "the baby." The plot is not long on action: pooch Hondo climbs into the family car (its vintage sets the tale in the 1930s or '40s) and travels to the beach, where he romps with a canine pal. Feline Fabian stays at home "to play with the baby." As the dogs "dive in the waves," the cat "dives for the door" (trying to escape the youngster's clutches). These quiet contrasts end with the winding down of the day: the dog's return, when he and the cat eat dinner from their respective bowls and, "full and fat," retire to their favorite resting spots. The minimalist narrative sets off the richness of the pictures, viewed as if through a scrim. Colors soften to a candlelit palette, enhancing the warm, nostalgic mood for an effect at once ingenuous and sophisticated. Ages 3-9. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Apr.)

ALA Booklist

Hondo is a dog, and Fabian is a cat. As the family pets, they get along just fine, but their lives are quite different. Hondo gets to go to the beach; Fabian has to stay home, though he still manages to have some fun. Little ones will enjoy following Hondo as he runs through the waves, and Fabian, who makes his own good times by playing with the little girl of the house and unrolling the toilet paper. McCarty's staccato text, one line to a page, captures a lot of action in a few words, but it is the pencil-on-watercolor-paper art that makes this so arresting. Each carefully shaded picture, in muted tones, has a smooth, solid look that is quite different from the art seen in numerous other picture books, where cartoons often reign supreme. The pictures here are sophisticated by comparison, but they have just as much child appeal as more raucous artwork. In addition, the message about making fun where one finds it is worth hearing.

Horn Book

Hondo the dog's adventures at the beach and Fabian the cat's experiences at home are juxtaposed in a simple, quiet tale of a day in the life of two pets. While lacking drama, the narrative exudes a pleasant familiarity. Softly blurred colored-pencil illustrations are accompanied by brief text suitable for young listeners as well as beginning readers.

Kirkus Reviews

Sepia-toned, subtly textured pencil drawings on cream-colored paper give this pet's-eye view of a day's adventures an air of polished, if slightly distant, elegance. Hondo the dog and Fabian the cat rise from their favorite snoozing spots to go in different directions: Hondo, to play on the beach with a furry friend; Fabian, to escape a toddler's clutches, and later to unroll some toilet paper. Both show unusual restraint—this may present a credibility problem for pet-owners—in passing up, respectively, a tempting bucket of just-caught fish, and a turkey sandwich, but after Hondo's return the two chow down from side-by-side pet dishes, then it's off to slumberland once again. Captioned by a very brief, present-tense text that passes the point of view back and forth, the illustrations convey a feeling of comfortable interspecies amiability more akin to Steven Kellogg's A Rose for Pinkerton (1981) than Donald Hall's I Am the Dog, I Am the Cat (1994). (Picture book. 5-8)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1-Two pets have a day devoid of excessive excitement. Simple pleasures amuse them as Hondo, the dog, plays at the beach with his puppy friend, while Fabian, the cat, stays home, eluding the family toddler and pulling toilet paper from the roll. Many easy-to-decipher, one-syllable words are repeated, giving children the opportunity to help with the reading. The few three-syllable words provide a challenge for the bold. The colored-pencil, selectively realistic illustrations are velvet-warm and fog-fuzzy. Hondo and Fabian have a gentle charm, and this amiable slice of life is a nice choice for bedtimes, for libraries needing more pet books, and for McCarty fans.-Jody McCoy, The Bush School, Seattle, WA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.