Dorothy McMoogle with Kumquat and Bugle. Bruce Rice. Illustrated by Wendy Winter. Regina, SK: Wild Sage Press, 2013. 32 pp., hardcover, $25.00. ISBN 978-0-9881229-5-6. Subject Heading: Children's poetry, Canadian (English). Kindergarten-grade 4 / Ages 5-9. Review by Inderjit Deogun. **½ /4

Dorothy McMoogle is tired of all that's drab and craves to bring music and colour to her street. When Dorothy's parents tell her to "forget this bopping bugle boopie", she turns to Dottie Aunt Lottie for help.

The dots flew fast and furious
They flew on thin and thick
We flung them by the bushel
We flung them by the brick

      Dorothy McMoogle with Kumquat and Bugle is a picture book of rhyming poetry that's best described as ridiculousness personified. Though the silliness of Rice's story doesn't match the mastery of Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein, it does have its shining moments.

You know what it's like
When something's missing and it isn't
And that doesn't make sense but it is
Though it can't be 'cause someone would know
If it were but they don't and it is

      Winter's illustrations perfectly fit the wackiness of Rice's text; however, the lack of colour is sorely missed, as is the eye-popping brightness it would have brought to the images. Dorothy McMoogle with Kumquat and Bugle is an ode to imagination that will resonate deeply with some readers.

Recommended.

Inderjit Deogun is a communications professional in Toronto, ON.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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