Horse Meets Dog, the debut picture book from TV writer Elliott Kalan ("Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return" and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart") tells the story of two stubborn animals who refuse to acknowledge one another's identities. Upon first meeting, Horse assumes Dog is a tiny baby horse, and Dog assumes Horse is a very big dog. Their confusion grows until they are (literally) running in circles, unable to see the world from the other's point of view.

With speech-balloons and Tim Miller's expressive, cartoonish illustrations, over-the-top humor is the name of the game here, and the lively back-and-forth discussions between the two characters make Horse Meets Dog a particularly good choice for storytime. In one instance, Horse tries to feed Dog a bottle of hay and mocks Dog's tail, telling him his tail should hang down "like a gorgeous hair waterfall." Even gift-giving attempts fail: Dog doesn't understand the heavy saddle Horse gives him, and Horse is utterly baffled by the concept of fetching a ball.

The new friends never come to understand the error in their thinking, and the comic rimshot of an ending—a bird appears to tell them they are "two weird-looking birds"—leaves readers hoping an epiphany will follow.

 

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Self-centered much? Horse is convinced that Dog is an infant horse—a "wittle cutie tiny baby" horse—and patronizes him accordingly. Dog thinks that Horse is a gargantuan dog with "weird feet." Neither stops to consider that there might be species other than their own, and the miscommunication only continues as they try to patch things up: Horse gets "Tiny Baby" a miniature saddle "in case a tiny person wants to ride you," and Dog gets "Big Pal" a ball to chase. Kalan, who has written for The Daily Show, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and Marvel Comics, makes a terrific picture book debut, moving the wonderfully narcissistic dialogue along quickly as these two huge—and hugely mistaken—egos battle it out ("?‘Tiny baby horse!' ‘Very big dog!'?"). Miller (Moo Moo in a Tutu), essentially charged with chronicling a comedy sketch, embraces the challenge by drawing Horse as a preening ovoid with stick legs and fabulous hair, and Dog as a belligerent series of sharp angles. He equips both with a repertoire of opera buffa gestures and expressions (utter disdain! indignation!) to great effect. Ages 4–8. Author's and illustrator's agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.)

K-Gr 2—In Daily Show writer Kalan's funny tale of misunderstandings, Horse and Dog get each other birthday presents: Horse gets Dog a tiny saddle ("Someone sits on you, and you take them wherever they want to go. Fun!"), and Dog returns the favor with a ball for playing fetch ("This is my favorite game! For obvious reasons!"). In a twist that will buck grown-up readers' expectations, the two don't develop empathy and walk off into the sunset; instead, the last page sees a new friend join the muddle, a bird who thinks Dog and Horse are both weird-looking birds. The easy, short sentences make this great for beginning readers; they will find Miller's (Snappsy the Alligator) expressive animal cartoons a hoot, too. VERDICT Fans of Snappsy and of Mo Willems's Pigeon will enjoy these overly confident creatures and their goofy obliviousness.—Henrietta Verma, Credo Reference, Jackson Heights, NY