THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY: A Picture Book You Must Not Miss

 Personal note: Dog books/stories enter my life with a head start, along with a bit of a handicap. I adore meeting dogs on the page, with or without pictures, and yet I open any dog book and turn pages with caution, knowing how easily their stories can break our hearts. Even so, the characters are often memorable, the stories reflect our lives, and the eventual endings often resonate with truths of deep significance. (See a few prior posts, HERE, HERE, and HERE, among many others). I had no qualms about reading and writing about this book, and I'm happy that I did.

Chronicle Books, 2021

My heart was drawn to THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY before even seeing the cover. That title told me instantly that the language would be dog-centered, allowing this first-person-narrator-dog to express himself with unleashed doggy-perspective and language of his lived experiences. Written by Derick Wilder and illustrated by Catia Chien, this achieves the highest levels of narrative and visual storytelling. As the cover suggests, this is a joyful, delightful book, but have a few tissues handy when you read or share it. 

This recent picture book release is a masterpiece, in my opinion, in both visual and narrative storytelling. I delayed writing about this one for more than a week, rereading it countless times. My  dilemma in beginning these notes came from pondering where to begin. I settled on summarizing the story, then tossed a coin to decide whether the author or illustrator would be first in line for the praise that would follow. 

From the opening endpapers to the final ones, an older dog's life and thoughts are revealed, including his exuberant embrace of life- from waking, to greeting his beloved "Little" (his foreverfriend), to walks through the "diggiedirt" into the "tallsticks", to the "gurgleburble", with a satisfying rest at the "smoothstump". Midway through the book our narrator reveals a gentle, happy, and glorious passage to another life, missing his Little and her pack of "twopaws", but thrilled to run and romp with vigor when he realizes that his "oldbones" feel new. Several page turns reveal passing seasons, holding Little in his caring gaze, then thrilling to the conclusion that I will not spoil. This resolution is so satisfying and joyous that I tear up as I type this, offering readers reassurance that it provides in every way both comfort and continuity in the cycles of life. 

Since the above provides samples of the remarkable voice, perspectives, and language of the narrator, "gooddog", its appropriate that author Wilder won the toss, so my praise will continue with his text. l've heard and read countless examples of smile-making word creations by preschoolers, and I've created a few words while playing with my own dogs over the years. I suspect most dog people have done so. I never doubted that my dogs incorporated my normal language as well as these dog-specific word, some with more ease than others. I was always certain that their responses to language revealed remarkable intelligence and understanding. 

Wilder appears to have been deeply connected to such dogs and to their concrete-descriptive-constructions. He speaks/writes in "dog-lish" superbly, with each use producing smiles and nods from this reader. They are laced through the text with a "just-right" frequency and fluency, never disrupting the narrative but rather enriching it with the sensory, innovative, heartfelt voice of the narrator. Readers/listeners of any age will translate automatically and engage with familiar experiences, but more deeply and fully through this voice. Reader immersion in "gooddog"s transitions and perspectives elevate a gentle and sensitive story by providing deep identifying and empathizing with these tender life experiences.

Illustrator Chien deserves equal praise for providing an immersive experience that fully captures the spirit and sensitive flow of this story. The colors, tones, crayon-like edges/fills, and matte finishes stretch across each spread with scenes and images that swirl with specificity and impressionistic style. Each spread sweeps across our view but also invites close examination. The expansive spreads interpret the text perfectly, plumbing the emotional and physical passages while anchoring the story in  the poignant and loving perspectives of "gooddog". 

Some folks caution picture book writers to not stretch such short text across long spans of time, unless intentionally addressing seasons, historic time frames, or are otherwise required to do so. In this case, the text implies a long expanse of time, but Chien serves that quality efficiently and masterfully with visual techniques. The opening endpapers incorporate spot sketches of "gooddog" and Little across years from infant to toddler to early childhood. The closing endpapers mirror that process with a flip I won't reveal. The use of a dayglo orange collar from that initial introduction provides a thread throughout every turn that, consciously or subliminally, carries reassurance and the delight of endless love from cover to cover. 

If my description in any way sounds melancholy or miserable, I have done the text and images an enormous disservice. There are other outstanding picture books dealing with dogs and their Littles and life cycles. I adore, have written about,  and recommend many of those, often. Even so, this exceptional blend of life-laughter-lingering-love, this unforgettable character with an instantly recognizable yet wholly original voice, these vibrant and soothing spreads combine to produce a picture book like no other. 

At the time I post this, THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY has received four starred reviews. With book awards season looming, I have no doubt that it will be seriously considered for and will win more accolades. Now that I've written a review/post about this book, I'll return my library copy. I've already purchased a copy to keep and one to gift, with more likely to pass through my hands to others. I hope the same will be true for you, too.