posted on 27 Jul 2023

A Boy, His Dog and the Sea by Anthony Browne

Anthony Browne, author and illustrator, has garnered plenty of awards and recognition over his long career: winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2000 and two Kate Greenaway medals, he became the sixth Children’s Laureate between 2009-2011. But despite the awards, he still feels like a bit of a secret treasure to those of us who are his great devotees because his profile amongst the wider public seems to have remained beneath the radar. It’s hard to know quite why this might be but for those of us who buy all of his books as they appear, he’s a constant source of pleasure and delight.

I hesitate to call Browne an illustrator because he is in fact an artist who uses his artwork to illustrate his books. His new book, A Boy, His Dog and the Sea is a perfect example of what I’m trying to convey here – the pictures are big canvasses, landscapes and seascapes that frame the humans and animals that move across it. Browne uses the double-spreads of this generously-sized book - which has a landscape orientation -  to produce a sense of shifting mood: these are Romantic landscapes that mirror the internal mood of his protagonists.

Browne is notable for his use of the surreal and for never feeling that he needs to explain his images – he simply leaves space for the reader, adult or child, to explain the story for themselves. But here in this new book, the approach is much more direct and straightforward.

Danny is having a boring day – his Mum is busy and his brother has gone out to play with friends. All that’s left to him is to take the dog, Scruff for a walk on the beach – again. Boring, he thinks. We then follow Danny as he slouches down to the coast with Scruff and the sky is dark and looming, a crow perches on a closed beach hut and a depressed old lady is also walking her dog.

Finding a stick, he throws it into the sea and is surprised and delighted to see Scruff plunge in and bring it back. Looking closely at the pebbles on the shore, Danny starts to see pictures and faces on the stones that he’d never noticed before – perhaps the seashore isn’t quite as boring as he thought. And is that a bit of blue we can see in the sky overhead?

When he comes across a colourful group of people looking out to sea and waving, Danny spots that maybe something isn’t quite right. Maybe the figure in the sea isn’t waving back as the group think but is in fact calling for help. Danny sends Scruff out to ‘fetch’ and the brave dog comes back with a boy who was near drowning.

Scruff becomes a hero and Danny’s boring day becomes a great day but you’ll have to get the book for yourself to find out just why that is….

A really lovely book from Browne and a superb production from Walker who have given us another book that you’ll want to keep on your shelf whether you’re 7 years old or 70 years old.

You will be able to get A Boy, His Dog and the Sea from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order it if they don’t have it on their shelves.

 

Terry Potter

July 2023