If Only You Knew How Much I Smell You: True Portraits of Dogs

by Valerie Shaff and Roy Blount Jr.

Book Overview

This collection teams up dog portraits by Valerie Shaff and verse by humorist Roy Blount Jr., to give an original portrayal of what dogs really think.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821224972
• ISBN13: 9780821224977
• Release Date: May 1998
• Publisher: Bulfinch Press
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

CUTE AS A BUTTON!

Never heard of "Doggeral"? Well, you will after you read this fascinating book. You will understand it, speak it and remember it. Canine lovers everywhere will be captivated by the beautiful photographs and witty verses. Here you will find dogs, dogs and more dogs of every description. As you turn the pages, the reader will be deeply touched with warmth, sadness, joy and wonder for each page tells a different story. This book is delightful to own, a pleasure to read, and makes an excellent coffee table book. One could not possibly look at a playfully wagging tail, a wet nose or huge sad eyes and not be overcome with emotion. After all, dogs are more than pets, they are our canine family to love, respect and care for - just like children.

Great pics...even better captions...

Each page of this delightful book has a smile, if not an outright laugh...Pictures of various dogs, both mixed and pure-breeds in various typical "doggie acts" with the captions depicting the dog's "thoughts" on the matter... A small dog looks sadly toward the camera with " I don't understand how you can be so smitten, you have me, yet you pet that kitten."... The photos are excellent, both posed and "action" shots. No dog lover should be without this book

funny and touching

This is a great gift-book idea, if you can manage to actually give it away. The photos are wonderfully done, featuring both "action" shots and natural, endearing portraits. These are real dogs, not models--no dangerously thin Italian greyhounds lounging on marble terraces here--and Shaff catches all their moods, movements, and expressions. The accompanying poetry by Roy Blount is a delight as well. As others reviewers have pointed out, this isn't puppy-wuppy talk, but witty, funny, and perfectly suited to the photographs. I thought several times as I was reading that Blount must be a life-long dog owner. He knows those looks and what's going to happen next.Altogether, a truly light-hearted book well worth having.

Woof, woof! (Human translation: "Great book!")

Dogs are said to be Man's Best Friend -- and with this book, it's easy to see why! The many moods and faces of dogs (ranging from comical, to cuddly, to downright cute) are chronicled in gorgeous sepia-toned photographs by Valerie Shaff. While Wegman dresses up his Weimaraners to elicit "human comedy gone to the dogs", Shaff shows the true nature of the beast through poignant and heartwarming pictures that allow the personalities of the dogs to really shine through. Each photo isaccompanied by incisively witty text by Roy Blount, one of America's best-known humourists. Whether you're a dog owner or not, this book will bring a smile to your face (and if it doesn't...well, then, you probably just haven't met the right dog yet!)

It absolutely made my heart smile from ear to ear!

I picked up this book in a local bookstore and read it cover to cover without realizing it. I was so absorbed in the beauty of the photos as well as enjoying the word association of each expression. I lost two dogs to old age(they were both 16 years old) in just the last year and this book brought me great joy. The memories of my "babies" flooded back and this little book brought tears to my eyes. Anyone who has ever truly loved a dog will enjoy this book. I'm buying it and keeping it always.