Bark, George
{{Short description|1999 picture book by Jules Feiffer}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Bark, George
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = File:Bark,_George_book_cover.jpg
| caption =
| author = Jules Feiffer
| illustrator = Jules Feiffer
| cover_artist = Jules Feiffer
| country = United States
| language = English
| subject = Humor
| genre = Children's literature, picture book
| publisher = Michael di Capua Books;
| pub_date = 1999
| english_pub_date = June 3, 1999
| media_type = Hardcover
| pages = 32
| isbn = 9780062051868
| oclc =
| preceded_by = I Lost My Bear
}}
Bark, George is a 1999 children's book written and illustrated by author, cartoonist and playwright Jules Feiffer, and published by Michael di Capua Books.{{cite book |last=Fay |first=Martha |year=2015 |title=Out of Line: The Art of Jules Feiffer |location=New York |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |isbn= 9781419700668}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/books/review/podcast-jules-feiffer-smart-george-steve-inskeep-imperfect-union.html|title=Jules Feiffer on his Long, Varied Career|date=3 July 2020|accessdate=31 January 2024|publisher=New York Times|author=Pamela Paul}} It was listed as ninth overall in a list of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal.{{cite web |url= https://afuse8production.slj.com/2012/07/06/top-100-picture-books-poll-results/ |title= Top 100 Picture Books Poll Results |author= Bird, Elizabeth |publisher= School Library Journal "A Fuse #8 Production" blog |date= July 6, 2012 |access-date= 21 January 2024}} The book is about the titular character, a young dog who cannot bark.{{cite web|url=https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/17653/|title=BARK, GEORGE|date=1 January 2003|accessdate=21 January 2024|publisher=Audio File Magazine|author=}}
History
Jules Feiffer explained that he had the idea for the story that became "Bark, George" when he told it to his young daughter, Julie, as an impromptu bedtime story which she did not find funny.{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/49778-the-good-the-bad-and-the-funny-authors-talk-humor-in-children-s-books.html|title=The Good, the Bad, and the Funny: Authors Talk Humor in Children's Books|date=8 December 2011|accessdate=31 January 2024|publisher=Publishers Weekly|author=Matia Burnett}}
The book’s sequel, ‘’Smart George’’, was published more than 20 years after the original was released. Feiffer said he intended to publish a sequel within two years of ‘’Bark, George’’ being released, and, “It was never far from my mind, as the years went by and I had no luck in coming up with any ideas, that someday, somehow, George would make a comeback. He was one of my favorite characters.”
Plot
The book tells the story of a puppy named George. George cannot bark in the conventional way dogs are innately able to bark.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/08/31/905804301/welcome-to-story-hour-100-favorite-books-for-young-readers|title=Welcome To Story Hour: 100 Favorite Books For Young Readers|date=31 August 2020|accessdate=31 January 2024|publisher=NPR|author=Petra Mayer}} When George's mother asks him to bark, George responds with “meow” and then several other animal sounds. George's mother takes him to a veterinarian where the reader discovers George has swallowed several different kinds of animals, which the veterinarian extracts one by one.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-oct-02-bk-reynolds2-story.html|title=Discoveries|date=2 October 2010|accessdate=31 January 2024|publisher=Los Angeles Times|author=Susan Salter Reynolds}}
The story has drawn comparisons to the nursery rhyme “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”.{{cite web|url=https://afuse8production.slj.com/2012/06/17/top-100-picture-books-9-bark-george-by-jules-feiffer/|title=Top 100 Picture Books #9: Bark, George by Jules Feiffer|date=17 June 2012|accessdate=31 January 2024|publisher=School Library Journal|author=Betsy Bird}}
Reception
The book debuted on the Los Angeles Times bestsellers list in September 1999.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-sep-12-bk-9474-story.html|title=Children’s Bestsellers|date=12 September 1999|accessdate=31 January 2024|publisher=Los Angeles Times|author=}} The New York Times described Bark, George as, “a charming bedtime standby” in 2008.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/books/review/Kamp-t.html|title=Cartoons for Grown-Ups|date=17 October 2008|accessdate=31 January 2024|publisher=New York Times|author=David Kamp}}
See also
{{Portal|Children's literature}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://archive.org/details/barkgeorge00feif/mode/2up Bark, George] {{registration required}} (via the Internet Archive)
Category:1999 children's books
Category:American picture books
Category:Children's books about dogs
Category:Children's fiction books
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