Catalanotto, Peter. Ivan the Terrier. New York: Atheneum, 2007.
It's so difficult to tell a good fairy story with Ivan around. The Three Billy Goats Gruff; Ivan chases them away before you can even get to the part about the goats trip-trap, trip-trapping over the troll's bridge. The Three Bears; Ivan jumps on the table and scatters the bowls of porridge and we never even get to see Goldilocks. In one fairy tale after another Ivan, the hyperactive Jack Russell Terrier, wreaks havoc until the author gives up and decides to tell a story about "a little dog named Ivan." Each of author Catalanotto's soft and idyllic full-page gouache and watercolor illustrations of a much-loved fairy tale scene is followed by chaotic landscapes of Ivan's devastation of said fairy tale. The author's repeated plea for someone to "grab that dog" and the full-page close-up of Ivan licking his chops after devouring the gingerbread man will have 4-8 year olds howling with laughter.
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