Freckles & Willie: A Valentine's Day Story

by Margery Cuyler, Marsha Winborn (Illustrator)

A Weekly Reader Book.

Freckles the dog is Willie's best friend until a little girl who doesn't like dogs moves in across the street.

Genres: Picture Books, Dogs, Friendship, Holiday, Childrens

30 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1986

About the author

Margery Cuyler is the author of many books for children, including From Here to There, The Little Dump Truck, and That’s Good! That’s Bad! The idea for That’s Good! That’s Bad! was inspired by a conversation with her son, Thomas, who asked, "Can't bad things change into good things?" Ms. Cuyler grew up in the oldest house in Princeton, NJ, and started writing stories as soon as she learned how to write. She now lives in the same house with her husband, sons and two cats.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/marger...

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Margery Cuyler and illustrator Marsha Winborn, who also collaborated on Sir William and the Pumpkin Monster , turn to Valentine's Day in this engaging picture-book from the 1980s. Freckles and Willie were inseparable companions, until Jane moved in next door. Soon Willie was ignoring his loyal canine friend, because Jane didn't care for dogs. But when he made a special Valentine for Jane, and her reaction was one of contemptuous dismissal, Willies realized just who his real friend was...

Having enjoyed Sir William and the Pumpkin Monster a few years ago, I was pleased to discover Freckles and Willie, which pairs Cuyler's engaging story with Winborn's charming, expressive illustrations. I thought Winburn really captured Freckles' winsome character in her artwork, chronicling his changing emotional state as Willie begins to shut him out. Young dog lovers will undoubtedly find this portion of the story upsetting, but fortunately there is a happy ending, as Willie works to win back Freckles' affection. For my own part, while I understood the necessity of keeping Freckles away from Jane, due to her allergies, it wasn't really clear to me why Willie needed to stop playing with him, even when Jane wasn't around. Leaving that aside, this was a fun Valentine's Day story, one which focuses on the friendship offered by our animal companions, rather than on having a human Valentine.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story about a boy and his dog.

[allyson dunn-worthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly fluff

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A youngster learns an important lesson when he ignores his best friend, a dog named Freckles, in order to impress a neighbor. A sweet story that will appeal to young dog caretakers.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

warms my heart <3

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about love, loyalty and how girls can really turn a boy's head as they get older. Willie adores his dog and they spend a lot of time together, but as soon as a new girl moves into the neighborhood, Willie loses his head over her and ignores his dog because she doesn't like dogs. Willie eventually pays his puppy more attention, but not until he discovers that the new girl, Jane, isn't very nice.

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

We bought this at a yard sale because the dog's name is Freckles and my dog's name at the time was Freckles. I don't know any kid who makes as rad a valentine as the kid in this book. It's about the unconditional love of pets.

[Maggie Mattmiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about how dogs really are our true friends. Also shows that dogs have feelings too. And how even after treating a friend maybe not so nicely, they'll always give you another chance! Super cute story from my childhood.

[Michelle King · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. This book can help you introduce Valentine's Day in your classroom. It can also be used to demonstrate how to illustrate a Valentine's Day card.