Big Dogs, Little Dogs: A Visual Guide to the World’s Dogs

Big Dogs, Little Dogs is a 32 page hardcover illustrated compendium of dogs from all over the world aimed at a younger audience than most books of this genre, children ages three and up. Each double-page spread displays one of the seven major categories (working dogs, hound dogs, sporting dogs, and so on) as well as sections on European, world, and mixed-breed dogs. An index provides brief descriptions of the three hundred included breeds, and a playful spread dedicated to puppies features a web of dotted lines that connect adult dogs to their offspring. There is also a “Dog Breed Fact Index” with interesting trivia about all of the breeds.

Medway’s cartoon style dogs are grouped into 10 categories with a short caption under each heading. The dogs stand against a white background that highlights their individual physical attributes and are identified by breed name.

Big Cats, Little Cats is a companion book that follows an identical format. It features cat breeds from North America, Europe, Asia and the rest of the world. Also included are wild cats, both the rarer small species and the large cats.

Readers seeking facts for school reports will be better served by more traditional resources, but young readers will enjoy exploring the abundant illustrations in these two books.

In addition to writing and illustrating fiction, graphic novels and children’s books, Jim Medway runs Create Comics workshops and sessions for schools, museums, galleries and universities.