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How Smudge Came
In the home where Cindy lives, no dogs are allowed, so she must bundle puppy up when she goes to work as a cleaning woman in the Hospice One patient is so blind with illness that he can barely see the dog; it looks like a smudge But, oh, how nice to hold the puppy What is Cindy to do? How will she care for Smudge? How Smudge Came was made into an award winning television movie and became an international best seller Awards and
Winner of the 1996 Mr Christie Book Award
Winner of the 1996 Sheila A Egoff Children's Literature Prize
Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Citation
Winner of the 1996 Mr Christie Book Award
Winner of the 1996 Sheila A Egoff Children's Literature Prize
Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Citation
32 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 1995
88 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
September 22, 2019
"If there's one thing Cindy knows, this is no place for a puppy," begins this heartbreaking and heartwarming tale of a girl, a dog, and two communities. Cindy, a young woman with Down Syndrome - something that is never mentioned directly in the book, but made evident through various elements of the artwork and story (like the fact that Cindy lives in a supervised group home) - desperately wants to keep the rescued puppy, named Smudge by a mostly blind cancer patient at the hospice where she works, but the people in charge of her home insist that he must go to the SPCA. When her attempts to retrieve him from the shelter prove unsuccessful, she is overcome by sadness and anger: "Cindy sits in the park for a long time, but the hurt won't stop. Every time she breathes. If there's one thing Cindy doesn't know, it's how to find that puppy. Crying won't help."
The happy ending to this terribly sad situation feels utterly natural and unforced, and is all the more satisfying for being so! I was tearing up almost as soon as I began reading How Smudge Came, a testament, I think, to the power of Nan Gregory's words, which instantly sucked me in to the story, and placed me squarely in Cindy's shoes. Without fanfare or didactic display, the author makes the reader feel as Cindy does - makes them feel what it must be like to have fewer choices, to always be told what to do, and how to do it. The artwork, done in colored pencil by Ron Lightburn, is perfectly suited to the tale, capturing Cindy's emotional state, in each scene, to perfection, and greatly enhancing their impact, as a result. Highly, highly recommended - to anyone looking for stories featuring characters with Down Syndrome, or for animal tales in general.
The happy ending to this terribly sad situation feels utterly natural and unforced, and is all the more satisfying for being so! I was tearing up almost as soon as I began reading How Smudge Came, a testament, I think, to the power of Nan Gregory's words, which instantly sucked me in to the story, and placed me squarely in Cindy's shoes. Without fanfare or didactic display, the author makes the reader feel as Cindy does - makes them feel what it must be like to have fewer choices, to always be told what to do, and how to do it. The artwork, done in colored pencil by Ron Lightburn, is perfectly suited to the tale, capturing Cindy's emotional state, in each scene, to perfection, and greatly enhancing their impact, as a result. Highly, highly recommended - to anyone looking for stories featuring characters with Down Syndrome, or for animal tales in general.
May 26, 2011
This is the story of big-hearted Cindy and the puppy she finds one cold, rainy day on the city streets. She brings him home but knows she can't keep him. She takes him to work and he enchants one of her friends there, but still, the workplace is no home for a puppy. What to do? She can't hide him forever. But when he goes to a local shelter and isn't adopted, the pain is almost more than she can take. For she felt the puppy was HER puppy, and somehow she hopes they can still be together.
Sounds like a sweet and fairly typical story of a girl and her dog, right? Now what if I told you that Cindy is a young woman with Down syndrome? That it's not her parents but those who run the home where she stays that don't allow pets. That she works at a Hospice cleaning rooms, and that her friend is a blind patient who is dying? Woah, right!? It is the blind gentleman who names the dog Smudge as all he can see of it is a little dark smudge; but the sweet dog brings him infinite joy, none-the-less. Despite some of the heavy issues in this book, I did not find it a depressing story and I think it excels because it is not "about" the physical challenges of the characters; at heart, this story is still about a girl and her dog--and about a love that surpasses the "challenges" Cindy and Jan (the blind man) face in their daily life.
I was utterly captivated by the cover art and knew I had to read this book! I think the cover illustration is still my favorite but there are other very nice ones in the book, too.
In June,the Children's Book Group's Picture Book Club is reading books about persons facing physical challenges. While this wasn't a selected title, I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for books that subtly and deftly incorporate such characters into an overarching story.
Sounds like a sweet and fairly typical story of a girl and her dog, right? Now what if I told you that Cindy is a young woman with Down syndrome? That it's not her parents but those who run the home where she stays that don't allow pets. That she works at a Hospice cleaning rooms, and that her friend is a blind patient who is dying? Woah, right!? It is the blind gentleman who names the dog Smudge as all he can see of it is a little dark smudge; but the sweet dog brings him infinite joy, none-the-less. Despite some of the heavy issues in this book, I did not find it a depressing story and I think it excels because it is not "about" the physical challenges of the characters; at heart, this story is still about a girl and her dog--and about a love that surpasses the "challenges" Cindy and Jan (the blind man) face in their daily life.
I was utterly captivated by the cover art and knew I had to read this book! I think the cover illustration is still my favorite but there are other very nice ones in the book, too.
In June,the Children's Book Group's Picture Book Club is reading books about persons facing physical challenges. While this wasn't a selected title, I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for books that subtly and deftly incorporate such characters into an overarching story.
January 8, 2016
I'd forgotten about this book until one of my students pulled it off the shelf this morning. We read it aloud and the kids were fascinated (and that's saying something with the group I was reading too!!). This book is an amazing way to introduce some awareness about people living with disabilities and how they are sometimes treated. The added bonus nugget about doing someone an unexpected kindness is just icing on the cake!
May 8, 2011
This is such a tender story - it brought tears to our eyes as we read it. The love between a human and a pet can create such a strong bond and bring such joy into our lives. And as we've seen many times when my Dad brought his little dog, Honey, to the nursing home, people who are in a care facility who often seem lost and withdrawn get a spark of joy and a light in their eyes when they pet her. So to have that joy snuffed out is a terrible thing and we felt so sad for Cindy when the people who ran her group home took the puppy away. We could really empathize with her desire to care for this poor little creature who had no home. The ending, I felt, was sweet and appropriate - I couldn't see it ending as happily or as realistically in any other way. We really enjoyed reading this story together.
September 23, 2015
Been on my list for a few years, glad I finally read it. Made me tear up, should painlessly teach & inspire children.
September 20, 2016
CONTAINS SPOILERS
wow wow wow
its been months since i rated a book 6 stars.
Cindy, a woman w/Down Syndrome lives in a group home and works as a cleaning lady at a hospice, finds a puppy digging in garbage on the way home and rescues it. She hides the pup of course, she Knows what everyone will tell her and what they think she is capable of, she takes the pup to work w/her, a nearly blind man given-up on life discovers what Cindy is hiding. And falls in love w/it.
When she gets home, the overseers demand the puppy and donate it to SPCA and say to Cindy what she knows they'll say. Cindy checks around, finds out where the pound is, gets there and is told to come back on the weekend when adoptions are held. She does, the dog has already been sold/adopted, Cindy's angry at the world and knows when she gets back to the home lectures will come because of her work absences. Eventually there is a happyish ending.
First the art, this could have been sent to a minor artist because the story is the driving force of the book, instead a Real artist was found, each illo could hang on a wall.
Story is not glossed over, Cindy is a real woman being jacked around by people smarter than her who know Best. Cindy, being handicapped, of course does not understand the responsibilities of caring for a dog. Cindy has real and dismissed reasons/feeling for being angry and sad (and loving the dog), but she needs to listen to the normals and just Understand The Way Things Are.
This book should be required reading in every school, psychologist's office, church and lawyer's office.
The writing is told in a staccato, simple style, almost all of the book is declarative statements. perfect
wow wow wow
its been months since i rated a book 6 stars.
Cindy, a woman w/Down Syndrome lives in a group home and works as a cleaning lady at a hospice, finds a puppy digging in garbage on the way home and rescues it. She hides the pup of course, she Knows what everyone will tell her and what they think she is capable of, she takes the pup to work w/her, a nearly blind man given-up on life discovers what Cindy is hiding. And falls in love w/it.
When she gets home, the overseers demand the puppy and donate it to SPCA and say to Cindy what she knows they'll say. Cindy checks around, finds out where the pound is, gets there and is told to come back on the weekend when adoptions are held. She does, the dog has already been sold/adopted, Cindy's angry at the world and knows when she gets back to the home lectures will come because of her work absences. Eventually there is a happyish ending.
First the art, this could have been sent to a minor artist because the story is the driving force of the book, instead a Real artist was found, each illo could hang on a wall.
Story is not glossed over, Cindy is a real woman being jacked around by people smarter than her who know Best. Cindy, being handicapped, of course does not understand the responsibilities of caring for a dog. Cindy has real and dismissed reasons/feeling for being angry and sad (and loving the dog), but she needs to listen to the normals and just Understand The Way Things Are.
This book should be required reading in every school, psychologist's office, church and lawyer's office.
The writing is told in a staccato, simple style, almost all of the book is declarative statements. perfect
November 21, 2016
Cindy lives in a group home and works at a hospice. (She has an intellectual disability.) One day, she finds a darling puppy. which she names Smudge, and brings it home with her. She hides it in her room, feeds it scraps of food from her dinner and then takes it to work with her the next day. When the people who run the group home discover she has a puppy, they take it away to give to SPCA. Cindy is heartbroken. Can she find a way to get Smudge back and keep him?
I love the gentle illustrations, the repetition in what Cindy knows (and doesn't know), and the love between Smudge and Cindy. I love how Cindy's disability is never directly stated and she is shown as a hard worker who knows and understands many things even if she doesn't understand everything.
I love the gentle illustrations, the repetition in what Cindy knows (and doesn't know), and the love between Smudge and Cindy. I love how Cindy's disability is never directly stated and she is shown as a hard worker who knows and understands many things even if she doesn't understand everything.
March 20, 2008
I liked this book. It's happy and sad at the same time. Happy because it ends well, a little sad because there are people like Cindy who just aren't allowed to decide for themselves.
Cindy is clearly living in a home of some kind, and I understand that there will have to be rules in a place like that, but still, I think it could have been handled differently by the people in charge.
Cindy is clearly living in a home of some kind, and I understand that there will have to be rules in a place like that, but still, I think it could have been handled differently by the people in charge.
November 10, 2014
The front picture on the book is pretty blurry and there's a dog on it. On the back is a lady walking in the rain. The title is off to the side and in black. The pictures the book are sort of descriptive but they look gloomy of blurry.
There's a girl named Cindy who is developmentally challenged. In the home where she lives no dogs are allowed. So Cindy hides her new found puppy in her room.
There's a girl named Cindy who is developmentally challenged. In the home where she lives no dogs are allowed. So Cindy hides her new found puppy in her room.
October 26, 2016
I loved this book for my 3 year old. My 5 year old was a little confused why an adult would need so much help. So it would be good to talk about disability and the beautiful lives of those with Down Syndrome. Precious book about a girl who finds a dog, wants to keep it, but cannot and then a delightful ending
May 13, 2011
This is such a sweet book!!! I read this every year to my kindergarten class. It's a great book for teaching about people different than ourselves and how important it is to treat everybody with respect.
June 18, 2007
a lovely telling of a girl meets dog story, written for adults and children to enjoy together. a marvelously smooth use of unique characters enhances the book's beauty and widens the appeal.
April 8, 2022
How Smudge Came is a sweet and gentle story about, Cindy, an developmentally disabled woman who lives in a group home and finds a puppy. The illustrations are beautiful. This story is a great way to introduce the concept of disability, Down Syndrome, and that some adults need help. The author treats Cindy with respect. Animal rescue is another concept that this book introduces to kids.
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October 24, 2021Read for Read Harder Challenge 2021 task #21: a children's book that centers a disabled character but not their disability. The main character has Down's syndrome and takes in a homeless puppy. It's a sweet book with nice illustrations.
September 28, 2019
Love both how the story was told and the "soft" illustrations.
October 25, 2019
bruh this was the first book i ever read why did i choose something so sad jesus
February 5, 2017
How Smudge Came is a gorgeous hardcover book I purchased (unused) at the children's book fair last year. The author wasn't there, but I met the illustrator again. Ron Lightburn's work is fabulous.
Look at the cover illustration of How Smudge Came. That immediately drew my attention to this book. The illustrations throughout are soft and beautiful, created with coloured pencils.
While walking home from her work at the hospice one cold rainy day, Cindy finds a little puppy and tucks him into her bag. She knows she's not allowed pets so she sneaks him into her room at the group home, and the next day she hides him in the large pocket of her cleaning apron so he can stay with her while she works.
Residents at the hospice enjoy the puppy, but things turn sour for Cindy when he is found. The puppy, whom Cindy named Smudge, is taken away from her and given to the SPCA so a good home can be found for him. Cindy is very upset and determined to get him back, so with help finds where they took him. Things don't go quite the way Cindy had in mind, though.
At first the reader will not pick up on the fact that Cindy is a young adult with Down Syndrome. She has a cleaning job and is able to travel by bus alone, and has the respect and appreciation of the people around her. The way Cindy is portrayed through how she speaks and the illustrations of her, will help children understand how she feels. It's easy to care about Cindy and Smudge.
This story is sad, but hopeful, and is told by Nan Gregory in such a gentle way with soothing illustrations by Ron Lightburn. The ending is very satisfying.
How Smudge Came won Mr. Christie's Book Award for Best Canadian Children's Book, won a B.C. Book Prize, was honoured as an "Our Choice" selection of the Canadian Children's Book Centre, and was on the American Bookseller's Pick of the Lists.
Look at the cover illustration of How Smudge Came. That immediately drew my attention to this book. The illustrations throughout are soft and beautiful, created with coloured pencils.
While walking home from her work at the hospice one cold rainy day, Cindy finds a little puppy and tucks him into her bag. She knows she's not allowed pets so she sneaks him into her room at the group home, and the next day she hides him in the large pocket of her cleaning apron so he can stay with her while she works.
Residents at the hospice enjoy the puppy, but things turn sour for Cindy when he is found. The puppy, whom Cindy named Smudge, is taken away from her and given to the SPCA so a good home can be found for him. Cindy is very upset and determined to get him back, so with help finds where they took him. Things don't go quite the way Cindy had in mind, though.
At first the reader will not pick up on the fact that Cindy is a young adult with Down Syndrome. She has a cleaning job and is able to travel by bus alone, and has the respect and appreciation of the people around her. The way Cindy is portrayed through how she speaks and the illustrations of her, will help children understand how she feels. It's easy to care about Cindy and Smudge.
This story is sad, but hopeful, and is told by Nan Gregory in such a gentle way with soothing illustrations by Ron Lightburn. The ending is very satisfying.
How Smudge Came won Mr. Christie's Book Award for Best Canadian Children's Book, won a B.C. Book Prize, was honoured as an "Our Choice" selection of the Canadian Children's Book Centre, and was on the American Bookseller's Pick of the Lists.
October 30, 2012
"How Smudge Came" by Nan Gregory is a story about a Cindy a girl who appears (never explicitly states)to have Down syndrome who one day finds a puppy. Cindy takes care of her puppy, Smudge, and even takes Smudge to her job at Hospice. However, Cindy lives in a group home and she is not allowed to keep Smudge. She tries to get him back after he has been taken to SPCA, she takes the bus all the way across town but in the end she is too late and Smudge has been adopted. But when Cindy goes to work the next day she finds that her friends at Hospice have adopted Smudge and are going to keep him there for her.
On the surface this is not a very good book about people with disabilities. To me it seems that Cindy is almost bullied by the leaders in her group home saying that she can't take care of a puppy and even telling her to go to her room like she was a child. Cindy proves that she is a capable adult. She does all of her daily chores, holds a study job, and utilizes the city bus system frequently for work and to find Smudge at the SPCA. I think as a teacher I would have students look at this book critically to see if it was really fair to not let Cindy keep the puppy or even state her side of the argument. I think it would also be good to start a discussion about evidence from the text supporting whether or not Cindy could take care of a puppy. Overall I do think that the author was trying to get the reader to look critically at the way Cindy was being treated and determine if it was right or wrong.
On the surface this is not a very good book about people with disabilities. To me it seems that Cindy is almost bullied by the leaders in her group home saying that she can't take care of a puppy and even telling her to go to her room like she was a child. Cindy proves that she is a capable adult. She does all of her daily chores, holds a study job, and utilizes the city bus system frequently for work and to find Smudge at the SPCA. I think as a teacher I would have students look at this book critically to see if it was really fair to not let Cindy keep the puppy or even state her side of the argument. I think it would also be good to start a discussion about evidence from the text supporting whether or not Cindy could take care of a puppy. Overall I do think that the author was trying to get the reader to look critically at the way Cindy was being treated and determine if it was right or wrong.
April 29, 2014
This is a sweet but some what sad little story about a girl named Cindy who lives in a group home. She finds a stray puppy and sneaks it into her room. She takes the puppy with her to her job at a hospice home. The name given the puppy incidentally is cute too.
However, the puppy is soon discovered and shipped off to the SPCA. CIndy finds herself quite sad. That is all I will reveal but I will say, the book does have a happy ending.
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The author treats the girl Cindy with respect to her challenges. I loved how it was written in the thoughts of CIndy and not the thoughts of the others that surround her. Cindy, even with her challenges, is shown to have feelings and is shown to be a productive citizen of society by making her own money while doing what she likes to do.The people she works with at the hospice center are sweet to her as well and respect her.
The book illustrates that no matter who we are or what we face, we sometimes have to overcome the things that hurt us or that we don't understand. This is especially the way of children when adults have control over their lives.
This book is geared for 2 year olds and up. I think that kids this young can grasp the idea of sadness and loss especially with an adult helping them to understand. I would not say however, that this is a book that you would want to read all the time as it is quite sad until the very end.
This book gets 4 stars.
Disclosure: I purchased a copy of this book. The review expressed here is 100% my own and may differ from yours.
~Naila Moon
However, the puppy is soon discovered and shipped off to the SPCA. CIndy finds herself quite sad. That is all I will reveal but I will say, the book does have a happy ending.
-----------
The author treats the girl Cindy with respect to her challenges. I loved how it was written in the thoughts of CIndy and not the thoughts of the others that surround her. Cindy, even with her challenges, is shown to have feelings and is shown to be a productive citizen of society by making her own money while doing what she likes to do.The people she works with at the hospice center are sweet to her as well and respect her.
The book illustrates that no matter who we are or what we face, we sometimes have to overcome the things that hurt us or that we don't understand. This is especially the way of children when adults have control over their lives.
This book is geared for 2 year olds and up. I think that kids this young can grasp the idea of sadness and loss especially with an adult helping them to understand. I would not say however, that this is a book that you would want to read all the time as it is quite sad until the very end.
This book gets 4 stars.
Disclosure: I purchased a copy of this book. The review expressed here is 100% my own and may differ from yours.
~Naila Moon
February 7, 2013
This book is about a girl named Cindy that finds a puppu out on the street. Cindy brings the dog home and takes care of it and nobody knows that she has it. The next day Cindy has to go to work so she brings the little puppy with her to work. One of the individuals at Cindy's work is Jan. Jan is sick and is almost blind. When Jan finds out that Cindy has the puppy Jan takes the puppy and starts petting it. Cindy knew it was a good idea to bring the puppy to work with her. When she got home her parents found out that she had a puppy and they made her get rid of it. Cindy was very upset but she knew in a couple of days she would go get the puppy from the shelter she had to put it in. When Cindy goes there on Saturday the owner of the shelter told her that all the puppies got sold today. Cindy is sad and starts to go home. When she gets home her father tells her that she is to go to work right away in the moring. When Cindy arrives at work she finds out that Jan is the one who bought the puppy. Cindy is happy to know that she will get to see it every day and that the puppy is in good hands.
August 3, 2007
How better to understand our common humanity than to peek at the inner world of another — and find it so like our own? Soft, coloured pencil illustrations and sparse, personal narrative relate a poignant story of love and loss, freedom and frustration, heartbreak and, in the end, happiness.
Other books referred to in this podcast: Dr. White
Listen to our chat about this book on our JustOneMoreBook.com Children's Book Podcast:
http://www.justonemorebook.com/2007/0...
Other books referred to in this podcast: Dr. White
Listen to our chat about this book on our JustOneMoreBook.com Children's Book Podcast:
http://www.justonemorebook.com/2007/0...
November 13, 2012
PB:17 How Smudge Came. What an amazing story that can relate to so many people, especially children who have lost a dog in some way and be reuinted with it in a magical way. Having a new puppy is one of the greatest feelings in the world and so many memories are made. Such a great read for the ordinary child but for adults as well.
December 29, 2012
The story of both Smudge the dog and Cindy (who cleans in a hospice facility) needing to have a home and a place to be loved and needed is very effectively conveyed. The simple colored-pencil drawings are a perfect match for the story. This isn't exactly a kids book to read with the grandchildren; it's more of a touching story that can help address the need to fit or a loss.
July 9, 2013
Cindy finds a puppy and tries to keep him. The place where she lives says she can't keep the puppy because she doesn't know how to take care of him. Cindy has Downs Syndrome and works at Hospice. She is sad when she finds that Smudge (the puppy) has been given away. Cindy goes to Hospice the next day and finds out that everyone there adopted Smudge and they will keep him for Cindy.
July 29, 2016
HOW SMUDGE CAME is a sweet and thought-provoking book probably best suited to older kids because of its more mature themes.
It tells the story of a developmentally disabled young woman who works as a janitor at a hospice, and what happens when she finds a stray puppy.
For kids who are old enough to grasp its themes, SMUDGE is a sweet and touching story.
It tells the story of a developmentally disabled young woman who works as a janitor at a hospice, and what happens when she finds a stray puppy.
For kids who are old enough to grasp its themes, SMUDGE is a sweet and touching story.
April 1, 2016
Cindy has Down's syndrome, lives in a group home, and cleans at a hospice facility. All of this is secondary information to the main story about how she found a puppy who she names Smudge. It's a simply beautiful picture book that takes on a unique narrative perspective. A lovely tearjerker.
July 12, 2017
I have been looking for this book for years. I kept forgetting to ask Scout what the name of the book she mentioned in class a couple years ago was. This is it. I cried while reading it. So amazing.
May 17, 2012
This story was beautiful. It was extremely heart felt, and brings tears to your eyes. The illustrations were beautiful and painted the words beautifully.
August 23, 2012
i thought it was a boring little kiddy book that i'd usually read to the kids i babysit......but as i read i found it was a suprisingly good story please read it to your children
December 30, 2012
Fun children's book with a happy ending.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews