Murphy and Kate - Hardcover

Kindergarten-Grade 4?This touching story chronicles the 14 years Kate shared with her dog, Murphy. Friends since infancy, the two ate together, played together, slept together. Kate even teaches Murphy to walk standing up, "one step at a time." As she gets older, school and friends begin to take up much of her time, but her faithful pet is always waiting when she returns home. But one day he is not waiting for her, and when she finally notices his absence late in the evening, she runs out to his favorite place in the yard and finds him moments before he dies. Although at first she believes life cannot go on, Kate resumes her normal activities. The ache of loss eases, but she does not forget Murphy, for it is remembering him that brings her joy. The lengthy text is lovely in its paralleling of the two lives, culminating in the final parallel in which Kate heals "one step at a time." Graham's soft paintings in muted tones match the gentle text perfectly. Small scenes, two to a page, depict baby Kate and the puppy learning together. Larger scenes show an older Kate and dog, while the largest paintings portray her as a teen. There is a progression from the unhappy girl shown against a somber blue background on the first page to the fond remembrance of an alert, mischievous Murphy against a white background at the end. A comforting story for children experiencing a similar loss.?Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community-Technical College, CT
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 7^-11. In a story told in retrospect, sensitive, tenderly rendered oil paintings picture baby Kate and puppy Murphy growing up simultaneously, teething together on purse straps and shoes and later walking together, Murphy on two hind paws as Kate taught him to do "one step at a time." As Kate grew older, their play time diminished, yet Murphy was always there, waiting for Kate after school, while she did homework, and as she talked on the phone. But one inevitable day when both were 14, Murphy no longer waited. Fourteen was old for a dog, but Kate was still young and now mourned life without Murphy. Although it unfolds a loving narrative of devoted companionship, this warmly told story's greatest strength lies in its caring, realistic revelation of just how the grieving Kate would go on "one step at a time," just as she'd taught Murphy to do, and finally find happiness not in forgetting Murphy, but in remembering him. A sensitive, honest focus on coping with the loss of a beloved pet. Ellen Mandel