Nicolas MordvinoffCritiques

Nap and Winkle are digging in the yard where they find a bone; Nap says the bone is his because he saw it first but Winkle says the bone is his because he touched it first. The dogs cannot decide which one is right, so they ask a farmer, a goat, an apprentice barber, and a big dog. The farmer, the goat, and the barber all say, “Who cares about a bone?” and the dogs don’t get an answer.

But when they ask the big dog, he asks to see the bone.

What will happen when Nap and Winkle take the big dog to see the bone? And what will Nap and Winkle do?

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The target audience for this picture book is the primary grade reader, ages four through seven, kindergarten through second grade. The story is, for the most part, positive. But the ultimate solution in which the two dogs team up for a violent confrontation with the other dog may not be the right message for young readers as the best example of problem-solving.

The story creates a learning opportunity for young readers to discuss ways to solve problems without resorting to violence. And, in the case of the farmer, the goat, and the barber, why these people did not help the dogs solve their problem. Helping others solve a problem is another way to support teamwork.

However, the Caldecott Medal-winning pictures make this book extraordinary. Using only red, yellow, black, and white and often drawing against a single color background, the distinctive illustrations superbly support the narrative.

Recommended.

Teaches the importance of sharing and not fighting.

This was a super cute story about teamwork. At first the dogs are arguing over whose bone it is, and as they try to settle the dispute, they are tricked into completing chores together for other people. They’re still arguing about whose bone it is when a big dog comes along and steals it. They again have to work together to fight the big dog and get the bone back. In the end they agree to share it. The illustrations were so colorful and popped out of the book just about. It was such a cute book and one I will be purchasing.

"Finders Keepers" is about two dogs, Nap and Winkle who are arguing about who is the owner of the bone and which one of them will be the one to keep the bone. A bigger dog comes along and attempts to steal the bone. They team up and take back the bone. In the end, the dogs decide to share. This book shows a little violence but it also shows children that sharing and teamwork solve your problems.

"Finders Keepers" is about two dogs who cannot decide on a problem they are having. They ask everyone they encounter about their problem and every person somehow gets what they want out of the dogs, but the dogs do not get the answer to their question. Nap and Winkle are arguing about who's bone it is and who gets to keep it. Well at the end of the book, they encounter a large dog who tries to steal the bone. The dogs then attacked the large dog and worked together to retrieve their bone. Nap and Winkle worked together at the end and decided to share the bone and be on their own. I enjoyed this book until the very end when it got extremely violent and I would have liked it a lot more without the violence. All in all, I think it would be more appropriate for older grades.

After reading several negative comments about this early Caldecott book in the Childrens Books group I really tried hard to like it. The middle of the story, with each semi-repetitive encounter, could be the nugget of a charming fable, and that much I did like.

And I suppose one could guess that this book was honored because it was one of the first to be something that is *not* sweet and tender, like Egg Tree and Song of the Swallows, etc. Little kids are wild and scruffy and selfish - maybe it was refreshing to see their core nature given acknowledgement, with the dogs as proxies.

And think carefully of the morals & lessons that the farmer, goat (Mr. Tuftichin - love it!), hair-trimmer, and big dog tried to teach our heroes. A young reader has something to think about as s/he ponders which lessons are worth paying heed to.

And the art supports the rough exuberance of the story.

So, I can say all that good stuff about the book. But I still can't actually like it much.

This story is the epitome of sharing. It follows two dogs named Nap, and Winkle whom both have helped to unearth a bone. They want it for themselves, and of course an argument ensues, for Nap saw it first, and Winkle touched it first. They take their reasoning to many people, all of which need help in certain matters, and after the task has been completed, they do not recall the original question of the bone. So the dogs continue on. They encounter a barber who cuts their fur ridiculously, and lastly, a larger dog, who asks the size of the bone. Upon digging it up from it's place of hiding, the larger dog decides it for his own, and runs away with it. This is where teamwork, albeit slightly violent, is finally a crossing between Nap and Winkle. They are both able to disarm the bone from the larger dog, and end up sharing it, each dog chewing away at either end.

Two doges find a bone and travel through many obstacles to discover the bone was meant to be shared. A classic tale that uses the bond of two dogs to show children sharing is important. The simplicity of the pictures allow the children to see the moral of the story.

The lessons learned in this one are that asking for advice doesn't always help, people have their own agenda, and sharing works out in the end. My favorite part of the story was when the apprentice barber cut the dogs' hair.

It seems different that the authors' first names only are on the front of the book and on the title page.

This book is great to read to younger toddlers and it's also great for beginner readers. Teaches children to share with others. And that that is the best way.

Finders Keepers is about two dogs, Nap and Winkle. They find a bone together and can't decide who it should belong to. They decide to get advice from others but, have no luck. They finally meet a large dog who is eager to make the decision for them by taking the bone for himself. They quickly make their minds up and decide that it is better if they share it instead of fighting over it.

I think this is a good book that teaches children the importance of sharing. When my daughter was younger I would use the same technique that was shown in this book and had great results. Whenever she had a toy that she wouldn't share, I would take the toy away from her and give it to the other child. Then I would tell her if she wanted to play with it she would have to share it with them.

I would have a class discussion about the importance of sharing with other people. I would have the students bring something they treasured to class with them and let them share it with the whole class.

This is a fairly "blah" story - two dogs find a bone and ask different characters who should get to keep the bone - the one who saw it first or the one who touched it first. Eventually they ask a bigger dog who tries to steal the bone from them; they attack him and then decide to share the bone. Weird.

There is also kind of a violent illustration of the two dogs attacking the other, bigger dog; nothing too vivid, but it still seemed a little out of place in this otherwise placid little tale.

1. Nap and Winkle (two dogs) were digging in the yard, found a bone and could not determine who owned the bone. They enlisted the unbiased opinions of individuals to help them determine who the rightful owner of the bone was. A big dog tries to steal the bone, so they team up, run him off, and share the bone.

2. I enjoyed this book, Nap and Winkle solved the problem they had when their bone (something of value) was stolen. Humans do this all the time, when tragedy strikes we come together to solve problems and forget our differences. September 11 is a perfect example of Finders Keepers.

3. I would use this book to promote sharing, teamwork, similarities, and differences. The students will make a list of things that they share with their classmates/teammates. We will also talk about our similarities and differences. In spite of our differences, with teamwork we can accomplish many difficult pursuits.

A polar bear in search of "Bear's Land" escapes from a zoo to find that life back home is better than the reality of life on the outside. Great artwork by Nicolas as always!