Can I Sit with You?

A diminutive brown hound offers loyal companionship to a human no matter what the circumstances, a vow it voices in lyrical free verse through the refrain “Can I sit with you?” In opening pages, the alert dog, alone on the street, seems taken with a girl sporting straight black hair. “May I ask you a question?” it appears to inquire, and then launches into a lengthy, many-paged appreciation. Whether the girl is “brimming like a ringing bell” (she faces an intimidating throng of children), “lonely like an empty plate” (she walks with a lunch tray into a round, empty, gray space), crying and alone, or ready for a hug, the dog is game for an embrace. Finally, the two begin a life together and share a cozy armchair, the girl’s face aglow with love. Watercolor and pastel artwork by Jacoby (Rabbit and the Motorbike) offers shifting, shimmering fields of color. Even the dog understands the emotional impact of the hues: “when you need a deep blue dark—/ Can I sit with you?” it says, planted by her side on a Prussian blue winter night. The dog doesn’t worry when the girl meets friends or explores alone—“I’ll understand the stray in you. It’s in my nature, too”—offering a saintly, patient presence in this portrait of pure-hearted canine love. Ages 5–8. [em]Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.) [/em]