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Pssst! Doggie--.
This is the debut of two new characters created by Keats. The newcomers don't talk very much, but when they get together, things happen. In this book with animal characters, a cat asks a dog to dance. From that point on, we are carried with them on a flight of imagination from country to country and from age to age. The musical motion of the changing scenery and costumes, and the humorous antics of the somewhat unusual pair on the dance floor, offer much to look at, but at the same time leave room for the child to fill in details from his own imagination.
32 pages, Library Binding
First published April 1, 1973
About the author
Ezra Jack Keats
125 books379 followersEzra Jack Keats was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He won the 1963 Caldecott Medal for illustrating The Snowy Day, which he also wrote. Many of Ezra’s stories are about a group of friends growing up in the city. The neighborhood they live in looks like the streets where Ezra grew up in Brooklyn, New York.
He was born Jacob Ezra Katz, the third child of Polish-Jewish immigrants Benjamin Katz and Augusta Podgainy. The family was very poor. Jack, as he was known, was artistic from an early age, and joyfully made pictures out of whatever scraps of wood, cloth and paper that he could collect. Benjamin Katz, who worked as a waiter, tried to discourage his son, insisting that artists lived terrible, impoverished lives. Nevertheless, he sometimes brought home tubes of paint, claiming, "A starving artist swapped this for a bowl of soup."
With little encouragement at home, Keats sought validation for his skills at school and learned about art at the public library. He received a medal for drawing on graduating from Junior High School 149. Although unimpressive-looking, the medal meant a great deal to him, and he kept it his entire life. Keats attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where he won a national contest run by Scholastic for an oil painting depicting hobos warming themselves around a fire. At his graduation, in January 1935, he was to receive the senior class medal for excellence in art. Two days before the ceremony, Benjamin Katz died in the street of a heart attack. When Keats identified his father's body, he later wrote, "I found myself staring deep into his secret feelings. There in his wallet were worn and tattered newspaper clippings of the notices of the awards I had won. My silent admirer and supplier, he had been torn between his dread of my leading a life of hardship and his real pride in my work."
His father's death curtailed his dream of attending art school. For the remainder of the Great Depression until he was drafted for military service in World War II, Keats took art classes when he could and worked at a number of jobs, most notably as a mural painter under the New Deal program the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and as a comic book illustrator. At Fawcett Publications, he illustrated backgrounds for the Captain Marvel comic strip. He spent his military service (1943-45) designing camouflage patterns for the U.S. Army Air Force. In 1947, he petitioned to legally change his name to Ezra Jack Keats, in reaction to the anti-Semitic prejudice of the time.
Keats spent most of 1949 painting and studying in Paris, realizing a long-deferred dream of working as an artist. After returning to New York, he focused on earning a living as a commercial artist, undoubtedly influenced by his father's anxieties. His illustrations began to appear in Reader's Digest, The New York Times Book Review, Collier's and Playboy, and on the jackets of popular books. His work was displayed in Fifth Avenue store windows, and the Associated American Artists Gallery, in New York City, gave him exhibitions in 1950 and 1954.
In his unpublished autobiography, Keats wrote, "I didn't even ask to get into children's books." In fact, he was asked to do so by Elizabeth Riley of Crowell, which brought out his first children's title, Jubilant for Sure, written by Elisabeth Hubbard Lansing, in 1954. To prepare for the assignment, Keats went to rural Kentucky, where the story takes place, to sketch. Many children's books followed, including the Danny Dunn adventure series, by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin, and an ethnographic series by Tillie S. Pine and Joseph Levine, beginning with The Indians Knew. All told, Keats illustrated nearly 70 books written by other authors.
In 1983, Keats died at the age of 67 following a heart attack. His last projects included designing the sets for a musical version of his book The Trip (which would later become the stage production Captain Louie), designing
He was born Jacob Ezra Katz, the third child of Polish-Jewish immigrants Benjamin Katz and Augusta Podgainy. The family was very poor. Jack, as he was known, was artistic from an early age, and joyfully made pictures out of whatever scraps of wood, cloth and paper that he could collect. Benjamin Katz, who worked as a waiter, tried to discourage his son, insisting that artists lived terrible, impoverished lives. Nevertheless, he sometimes brought home tubes of paint, claiming, "A starving artist swapped this for a bowl of soup."
With little encouragement at home, Keats sought validation for his skills at school and learned about art at the public library. He received a medal for drawing on graduating from Junior High School 149. Although unimpressive-looking, the medal meant a great deal to him, and he kept it his entire life. Keats attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where he won a national contest run by Scholastic for an oil painting depicting hobos warming themselves around a fire. At his graduation, in January 1935, he was to receive the senior class medal for excellence in art. Two days before the ceremony, Benjamin Katz died in the street of a heart attack. When Keats identified his father's body, he later wrote, "I found myself staring deep into his secret feelings. There in his wallet were worn and tattered newspaper clippings of the notices of the awards I had won. My silent admirer and supplier, he had been torn between his dread of my leading a life of hardship and his real pride in my work."
His father's death curtailed his dream of attending art school. For the remainder of the Great Depression until he was drafted for military service in World War II, Keats took art classes when he could and worked at a number of jobs, most notably as a mural painter under the New Deal program the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and as a comic book illustrator. At Fawcett Publications, he illustrated backgrounds for the Captain Marvel comic strip. He spent his military service (1943-45) designing camouflage patterns for the U.S. Army Air Force. In 1947, he petitioned to legally change his name to Ezra Jack Keats, in reaction to the anti-Semitic prejudice of the time.
Keats spent most of 1949 painting and studying in Paris, realizing a long-deferred dream of working as an artist. After returning to New York, he focused on earning a living as a commercial artist, undoubtedly influenced by his father's anxieties. His illustrations began to appear in Reader's Digest, The New York Times Book Review, Collier's and Playboy, and on the jackets of popular books. His work was displayed in Fifth Avenue store windows, and the Associated American Artists Gallery, in New York City, gave him exhibitions in 1950 and 1954.
In his unpublished autobiography, Keats wrote, "I didn't even ask to get into children's books." In fact, he was asked to do so by Elizabeth Riley of Crowell, which brought out his first children's title, Jubilant for Sure, written by Elisabeth Hubbard Lansing, in 1954. To prepare for the assignment, Keats went to rural Kentucky, where the story takes place, to sketch. Many children's books followed, including the Danny Dunn adventure series, by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin, and an ethnographic series by Tillie S. Pine and Joseph Levine, beginning with The Indians Knew. All told, Keats illustrated nearly 70 books written by other authors.
In 1983, Keats died at the age of 67 following a heart attack. His last projects included designing the sets for a musical version of his book The Trip (which would later become the stage production Captain Louie), designing
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 14, 2018
We loved this one. There was hardly any text in it, but the illustrations were funny! The cat asks the dog if it would like to dance, and they dance in several styles (tap, flamenco, Russian folk, like sailors, etc).
June 28, 2018
Pssst! Doggie– is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, which tells a story about a cat and a dog dancing severally different styles.
The text is virtually non-existent – the story is entirely told in illustrations and the reader's imagination. In short, a cat asks a dog to dance and they do. The illustrations are wonderfully depicted and incredibly funny and convey the story well without the need of text.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It tells an unlikely story about a cat asking a dog to dance, which he accepts. They dance in several styles from around the world and in a myriad of costumes and in the end they take a well-deserved nap. It's funny and rather different form the other Ezra Jack Keats' books that I have read.
All in all, Pssst! Doggie– is a wonderful children's book about the improbability of a cat asking a dog to dance and the flights of imagination they go through.
The text is virtually non-existent – the story is entirely told in illustrations and the reader's imagination. In short, a cat asks a dog to dance and they do. The illustrations are wonderfully depicted and incredibly funny and convey the story well without the need of text.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It tells an unlikely story about a cat asking a dog to dance, which he accepts. They dance in several styles from around the world and in a myriad of costumes and in the end they take a well-deserved nap. It's funny and rather different form the other Ezra Jack Keats' books that I have read.
All in all, Pssst! Doggie– is a wonderful children's book about the improbability of a cat asking a dog to dance and the flights of imagination they go through.
August 17, 2024
I love these nearly wordless books by Keats that I've found that feature animals instead of Peter and neighbors. The man deserves more credit. This is a book that I enjoy now, and my inner child loves, and even young me, who outgrew picture-books too early, would have loved to pieces. Heartwarming and funny.
I particularly love the reversed stereotype - it's the cat who is male, and the dog female.
I particularly love the reversed stereotype - it's the cat who is male, and the dog female.
March 1, 2018
Cute paintings, which is a must with so little dialogue. Would be cute to see the reaction of a kid reading this, but I don't have one young enough!
September 2, 2015
When a shaggy dog and a black cat begin to dance, they quickly take on costumes and dance through foreign locales and time. It's a nice premise, as the dog and cat clearly have much fun together, but the art does not have the charm as some of Keats' other picture books.
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March 12, 2013April 28, 1973, EZra Jack Keats, Grades: K-1, Animals: Juvenile Audience
January 20, 2016
The story was weird, but I loved the feel of the pages!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews