mat_tobin's review against another edition
4.0
A Caldecott Honour awarded story that follows the exploits of a rather mischievous dog (who bites and exactly what he is told 'not' to do and Alan Mitz, the poor young lad who has been put in charge of minding him whilst the owner is away. Although the young boy has the measure of the dog at first, the hound eventually escapes and heads off into the neighbour's voluminous gardens. The great Abdul Gasazi though is a retired magician and one who has a particular distaste for dogs. What will happen to Fritz after the magician gets hold of him and whatever will Alan say to the dog's owner?
I've always loved Allsburg's illustrations. The deep and meticulous control of shading and line in pencils draw you in without fault and seem perfect for mirroring his themes or reality and fantasy. As always, the reading is encouraged to look closely at the pictures and consider what is subtly being said. The writing is, perhaps, a little too long winded at times but the mystery is as rich as ever. This was Allsburg's first picturebook.
I've always loved Allsburg's illustrations. The deep and meticulous control of shading and line in pencils draw you in without fault and seem perfect for mirroring his themes or reality and fantasy. As always, the reading is encouraged to look closely at the pictures and consider what is subtly being said. The writing is, perhaps, a little too long winded at times but the mystery is as rich as ever. This was Allsburg's first picturebook.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
Cute Caldecott Honor Winning picture book. But it's a dog story. It is a dog story, but with pretty impressively detailed black and white art. And a lot of text. But it reads well and fast. And is clever and tricky and funny.
minda's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
rjvrtiska's review against another edition
4.0
A fun post-modern story with beautiful black and white illustrations of formal gardens.
stephanie_willis's review against another edition
3.0
Winner of the Caldecott Honor Award in 1980, "The Garden of Abdul Gasazi" is magnificently illustrated. The book is laid out in a landscape style, helping each picture grasp all the details of the settings and characters. The book is designed in a way where the text and illustrations are separate. The text lies across from the illustration. Rather than having a full bleed spread, the text has a border around it, and each illustration has a white border around it. However, the interplay between the text and the illustrations are enhancing. If one of them were missing, the whole story would be lacking in quality. Each illustration is solely in grays, black, and white. Usually I am not a fan of colorless books; however, the details in each illustration is so vividly drawn, that I could hardly notice the lack of color. I was drawn into each picture, with all the creativity and detail it had to offer.