DOGS! And More DOGS! An ATLAS OF DOGS For Many Ages!

 Full disclosure: I'm a "dog person", and always will, be, even though not currently having a dog in my family. (Also a fan of cats, but with allergies they are permanently off the household list.) I am also a fan of many picture books that were originally produced in other cultures/languages and brought to an American/English audience. This is happening more frequently these days, with the high quality and universality of both fiction and nonfiction themes and topics as the reason for their success.

Albatross Media Group, 2021

ATLAS OF DOGS is written by authors Ester Dobiasova, Stepanka Sekaninova, and Jana Seflackova. Colorful, comical, and informative Illustrations are the creation of Marcel Kralik. This wonderful book first hit the market in Prague, the Czech Republic, in 2021, then made its way to my English-speaking eyes via Albatross Media Group for consideration for a nonfiction CYBILS awards a few months ago. I was delighted to have a close look and knew it would merit a full review.

An ATLAS approach to nonfiction content is rarely the kind of book that one might read cover to cover. Such a structure typically is used for research, shelved in a reference section. The rare accomplishment of this title is that it fully deserves the "ATLAS" designation and could provide searching readers with the specifics they might be seeking, but invites that cover-to-cover engagement. It provides a Table of Contents that is organized along the lines of dog show categories, grouping dogs by their function or heritage, and launching the pages with an overview of the species "DOG". 

But anyone seeking deep and detailed content would do well to use more comprehensive resources. This appealing ATLAS serves to provide a fully functional view of dogs, and provides a fun first step in feeling at home with reference materials and the ways they can explore factual content. In this case both the text and the illustrations present valuable details, including scaled sizes and breed features, with a colorful, kid-friendly approach that invites reading. In large part that is a credit to the overall page designs, using clear font, comfortable line spacing and background white pages, with brief text segments and spot illustrations that draw the eye (and the heart!) to want to know more.

HUMOR literally seasons every page and aspect of the book, with the dogs themselves claiming center stage in attitude, relationships, and unwavering, irresistible direct eye contact with the reader. Crisp asides are smile-bait: 

Title page sign:  KEEP CALM AND CRUNCH THAT BONE

Dedication: THIS BOOK BELONGS TO ALL DOG LOVERS

End papers: DICTIONARY OF DOG SPEECH

The back cover provides a sample of a distinctively clever feature. Throughout the atlas there are many pages from a dog-pubilshed periodical, DOGS' DAILY POST. The various "page" inserts include dog stories (many of dog bravery or remarkable skill), letters to and from the "editor", famous people and their pets, and tongue-in-dog-cheek advertisements.

For kids who have one or more dogs, and for those who are begging to get one, this book is a perfect fit. I can even imagine that the occasional child who has a fear of dogs might find it a safe and informative way to learn more about dogs, that all are not alike, that their body language can be "heard/read" in order to respond safely, and potentially even shift  beyond their learned aversion or anxiety. 

One thing I particularly admired about the illustration is how most of the dogs were ACTIVE, in motion, and in those cases revealed even more facts about each breed. Some reflected characteristic strides, gaits, postures, tail positions, and more, all of which seemed accurate, to my amateur eye. In every case the excitement of and enjoyment of the various dogs was reflected in relationships with humans and other canines, a truth that anyone who has ever had a dog will confirm. This picture book has many benefits as a first-atlas experience, but also has the warm appeal that will make it more of a go-back-to-often book than a look-something-up choice. Ask for it in your library and decide for yourselves!