Kirkus Reviews

Traditional adversaries are (eventually) united by a common enemy. In the beginning, Dog and Cat are friends. Selected separately by Mr. and Mrs. Button, they make the best of being forced to share a room. Soon enough, though, differing interests, styles and behaviors lead them to sabotage each other in the hope of becoming an only pet. Full-page pictures, double-page spreads and smaller vignettes, all created with colored pencil and enhanced with a Wacom drawing tablet, reveal the extremely anthropomorphic lives of these entertaining animals. Brown, blocky Dog has a recliner, a bed, lots of sports equipment and plenty of snacks. Sleek black Cat, by contrast, has sharp suits, lots of books and what appears to be a chemistry set. Some details, like the finned car that carries Dog home and the black-and-white photos that cover the endpapers, have a retro vibe that suits the text's deadpan humor. Dog and Cat, meanwhile, manage to convey emotions clearly with just the quirk of an eyebrow or a sideways glare. What drives these two sibling stand-ins to bury the hatchet won't surprise many readers, but their solution suits the overall silliness to a T and will likely lead at least some listeners to long for their own special place. The stylish illustrations and sly wit on display here will please Gall's fans and likely win him new ones. (Picture book. 4-7)

ALA Booklist (Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

When Mr. Button brings home a dog, and Mrs. Button brings home a cat, the two very different pets have to learn to share a room together. In a cute spin on a dorm-room situation, the two greet each other cordially, but soon their idiosyncrasies begin to grate on each other. Cat has no interest in chasing tails. Dog is not a fan of Cat's indoor bathroom habits. And what's up with Dog sniffing everything and Cat clawing everything? Gall has a field day with his comic colored-pencil art, offering so much to laugh at that it's hard to keep up: Dog's frat-house sloppiness, Cat's rack of identical jackets, Dog's iBone device, and more. After a phase of sabotage (Cat hacking hairballs into Dog's bowl, etc.), the two rejoin forces when a third character arrives, louder and stinkier than either of them: a baby. This final plot swerve feels a touch extraneous, but that doesn't take away from the giggly joy anyone will get from these odd bedfellows. A second round would be welcome.

Horn Book

Dog and Cat try to get along, but they're just too different. They build a wall of stuff to separate themselves, but then they start to miss each other...just in time to join forces to escape another new roommate. Text and pictures are layered with humor, and the bold colored-pencil and digitally created art heightens the odd-couple drama.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In a story brimming with sight gags, Gall (Awesome Dawson) mines a Cat and Dog-s odd-couple arrangement for laughs. The reluctant roommates meet when their human caretaker, Mr. Button, visits -the animal shelter to pick out a friendly-looking dog- on the same day Mrs. Button purchases a -smart-looking cat.- Like mismatched co-eds, the animals partition their shared space with dotted lines. Laidback, sports-loving Dog messily occupies a corner strewn with slices of pizza, while tidy, straight-laced Cat organizes a science lab and bookshelf with military precision. Their rivalry allows for pranks involving litter boxes, hairballs, high-pitched whistles, and catnip. At last they achieve détente, only to be startled by -a strange howling- that emanates from -the most terrifying creature had ever seen--a human baby. Gall-s detailed colored pencil cartoons and the pets- snarky hand-lettered remarks provide punch lines for the deliberately understated text. Dog and Cat-s interactions have a decidedly human bent, and their vexed situation will speak equally to young siblings and college freshmen. Ages 3-6. Agent: George Nicholson, Sterling Lord Literistic. (May)

School Library Journal (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

PreS-Gr 2 Starting with illustrations on the endpapers, readers know immediately that they are in for a treat with this picture book. On the same day, Mr. Buttons returns home with a "friendly-looking dog," while Mrs. Buttons find the perfect "smart-looking cat." Clearly, these newcomers are not going to get along, and each one sets out to make the other leave ("Dog rubbed some party balloons on the rug and stuck them to cat. Cat popped them with sharp claws, nearly giving Dog a heart attack. Cat filled Dog's water bowl with hairballs. Dog poured the water over Cat's head during naptime."). The exaggerated traits of both animals are wonderful. Small details, such as the dogs at the animal shelter holding signs saying "I'll be your best friend" and "I want to lick you!" are a hilarious contrast to the cats in the pet store window with signs such as, "And you are?" and "I'm kind of a big deal." The colored-pencil illustrations are remarkable, and the animals' dialogue, expressions, and body language are priceless, as is the funny conclusion. A terrific addition to any friendship or pet storytime. Brooke Rasche, La Crosse Public Library, WI