Lucky and Squash

Background

Lucky and Squash is a children's book by Jeanne Birdsall, author of Flora's Very Windy Day. It is illustrated with watercolor paintings by Jane Dyer, illustrator of more than fifty books, Lucky and Squash was published in 2012 by Harper. The book is appropriate for children between the ages of 3 and 7. The eponymous characters are dogs, Lucky being a brave Lhasa Apso and Squash being a smart Boston Terrier. They are based on two real dogs who knew each other since they were puppies and often played together: Cagney, Birdsall's Boston Terrier; and Scuppers, Dyer's Tibetan Terrier.

Plot

Lucky and Squash are neighbors separated by a fence that prevents them from playing together. Lucky's owner, Mr. Bernard, and Squash's owner, Miss Violet, are both single and have never spoken to each other because they are so shy. Lucky and Squash decide to run away hoping that, when their owners come rescue them, the two owners will meet, fall in love, and get married, thereby making the dogs "brothers" and allowing them to play together whenever they wish. Lucky and Squash escape from their respective yards three days in a row and go on adventures. The owners do meet and fall in love.

Reception

A Publishers Weekly review refers to Lucky and Squash as almost being "Emma meets Ferris Bueller's Day Off with wagging tails" and states that Birdsall's "genial, intimate storytelling instantly establishes a bond with readers". An article in Kirkus Reviews suggests that Lucky and Squash is similar to a fairy tale in its narrative structure, language, and romantic wedding scene conclusion. This reviewer summarizes Lucky and Squash as a "gentle, entertaining story... good for dog lovers and romantics alike".

In a School Library Journal article, Anne Beier of the Hendrick Hudson Free Library in Montrose, New York gives the book a positive review, praising Birdsall's writing and describing the story as funny, sweet, heartwarming, and suspenseful. Beier especially praises the climactic scene of the dogs' capture by the bear, writing that the repeated story arc of running away is strong as a result of the increased tension. She calls the dog characters endearing and writes, "This title will be a hit at storytime or in a one-on-one setting". Connie Fletcher of Booklist also gives the book a positive review, comparing the two eponymous characters to Pyramus and Thisbe, two lovers in Ovid's poem Metamorphoses. In her review, Fletcher calls the book "a fun canine fantasy with humor, excitement, a happy ending, and, most important of all, two ridiculously adorable dogs that end up getting their way - as dogs tend to do".

The Publishers Weekly reviewer is critical of Dyer's illustrations, arguing that they do not provide the two dogs with sufficiently differing personalities. The reviewer calls the illustrations "pretty and sweet", but argues that they are too understated in their depiction of the dogs going on improbable adventures, such as snorkeling at the beach and riding in a hansom cab in Manhattan.

Other reviews of the book's illustrations were positive. Beier writes highly of the illustrations and states that Dyer's paintings of the dogs' faces are priceless, particularly in the scenes where they are looking at each other through the fence and those where they are in their owners' arms. Similarly, the Kirkus reviewer calls the illustrations charming and writes that they "have all the clever details that are Dyer's signature touch", noting specifically the lavender frames of Miss Violet's eyeglasses and the inclusion of the dogs' names on their collars. Fletcher suggests that, apart from the "ominous grays and greens" in the illustrations of the forest scenes with the bear, the pastel-colored illustrations in the book are evocative of 1940s picture postcards, which she considers "just right for such jolly capers".