Howdi Do (Radunsky/Guthrie) - Hardcover

Folk-music legend Woody Guthrie meets madcap artist Vladimir Radunsky (Yucka Drucka Droni) in the ebullient picture book and CD set Howdi Do, a cheerful song-story about a bright yellow dog who has to say hello to and "shakey paw" with absolutely everyone. It's perhaps the most contagiously cheerful book on the planet--a puppy madly running through town shaking everyone's hand, spreading good cheer, and saying "howdi do," of course. Radunsky's crisp, colorful collages shout and wave and bound with the simple song; once preschoolers listen to the accompanying CD they'll get the idea and join right in: "Howjee, heejee, hijee, hojee,/ Howdi do, sir, doodle-do." The four-song CD of kid-friendly Guthrie creations, performed by the Band of Weeds, adds even more rhythm and life to this happy offering. (Baby to preschool) --Karin Snelson

Radunsky, illustrator of An Edward Lear Alphabet, turns his attention to an American nonsense lyric by folksinger Guthrie. In this infectiously friendly song, a bubbly canine narrator says hello to literally everyone: "On my sidewalk on my street,/ Everybody that I meet,/ I will shake them by the hand, howdi do, howdi do./ Yes, I'll shake it up and down, howdi do." The bright yellow, blue-eared hound appears in every spread (once with an acoustic guitar), extending a paw to adults and children, cats and dogs. Waving and smiling, some pushing baby carriages, all dance to the playful, repeated chorus that is Guthrie's piece de resistance: "Howjee, heejee, hijee, hojee,/ Howdi do, sir, doodle-doo./ Howdi doosle, doodle-doozie,/ Howdi do, howdi do...." Oversize, sans-serif type makes word recognition a snap, although speaking the tongue twisters may require a bit of gleeful practice. Radunsky's gouache-and-collage illustrations have grown looser since Yucka Drucka Droni: amorphous cutout shapes and streaks of paint serve as the characters' facial features and clothes; the yellow dog has a black daub of a nose; and colorful rectangles or white space suggest the sidewalk setting, so that the meeters and greeters often seem suspended in midair. Radunsky's slapdash silliness and Guthrie's neighborly salutations are irresistible. Ages 2-5. (Apr.)
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