Archie by Domenica More Gordon

Bloomsbury, 2012. ISBN 978 1 4088 2862 5.
(Ages 4+) Recommended. Picture book. Pets. Warm in his overcoat, Archie notices his trusty pet dog, naked in the wintry day while out walking. He rings and receives a sewing machine and then some material in the post, making his pet dog an overcoat as well, for when they go walking. On their first day out, both wearing their warm overcoats, they meet a woman and her dog. She expresses a liking for Archie's dog's coat, and he makes one for her dog. Later of course, all the pet owners want one for their dog, and Archie becomes a small business man. Later still, his new friend requests a dress for herself, and Archie finds a mannequin to fit the new dress around to make the clothes. This leads to all the other dog owners requesting Archie make them clothes for them, and finally someone quite famous hears about Archie and requests a coat for her corgi.
This is a beautiful story of friendship, of meeting new people, of pet ownership and the relationship between pets and their owners. The book gently promotes good relations between pet owners, of responsible dog ownership. The illustrations are just wonderful, gently amusing, pleasurable to look at and read about. The few words added include woof, gasp and ring, giving some background noise to this mainly wordless book, encouraging young readers to repeat these words aloud.
Fran Knight