Liars and Saints

 "Two Dogs" is the story of a marriage--between dachshunds, Augie and Perry. These two are adored, in youth, but then their owner goes away to school, and life becomes somewhat repetitive. Augie (the immature one) fills his days by stealing Perry's rubber ball. Perry (the civilized one) calmly asks for his property, but the only trick that works is to play high notes on the piano until Augie relents and apologizes. Desiring a change, the two dogs attempt an illicit trip outdoors. They roll in raccoon poop; they pee on the rose bush. But they go too far; they realize they can dig (and dig, and dig) an enormous hole. And the evidence of their transgression threatens to overturn their lives; they risk eviction from their comfortable (and warm, and food-filled) home. I love these dogs because I think I know them; I think I'm reading about two halves of myself. Falconer died soon after "Two Dogs," but he ended on a high note; it's a funny and suspenseful work...

  Many--if not most--of the great American picture-book writers have been gay men. James Marshall, Arnold Lobel, Maurice Sendak, Tomie dePaola, Remy Charlip, Harry Allard, Christian Robinson: This is a starry lineup. Howard Ashman did not write picture books, but his iconic creations did *spawn* picture books. To the list, I'd add Ian Falconer. Of course the book is "Olivia." Falconer wrote it for his niece. It's not didactic; it doesn't have any morals. It's about a little pig who sometimes finds her baby brother irritating, so "she must be firm." A substantial part of her day is just moving the family cat out of her path--then moving the cat again. Olivia has visual intelligence; she designs sand castles and admires Degas. Jackson Pollock inspires her--so she defaces her house with crayons.  When Olivia dresses, she must consider and discard each and every piece of clothing within a five-mile radius; it's only after a serious internal debate th...