Rosie Runs

Starred review from June 5, 2023
Like the other racing dogs, sleek Rosie, dressed in jersey number two, chases a mechanical hare around the track every day. The spectators enjoy the show, but it’s hard on Rosie and her companions, who move restlessly in their cages at the racetrack each night. The day after she wins a race, Rosie starts off running again, but when she gets to the finish line, she doesn’t stop. She leaps over the track fence (“The spectators gasp in wonder”) and keeps going through crowds portrayed with varying skin tones, pacing a train, barreling through a subway station, following a pink car, and soon, finding herself washed out to sea. But she’s in no danger, and when she comes ashore elsewhere, she encounters new canine companions in a place where she’s more than just a jersey number. This story by Finnish creator Maijala offers many pleasures: riveting, sustained motion; the suspense of wondering whether Rosie will be captured; and acute observations (a tethered circus pony “neighs in longing as Rosie runs by”). A series of wide-angle views roughly stroked in crayon-like colors give a mosaic feel to Rosie’s flat-out dash for freedom in this triumphant escape story. Ages 3–7.

November 15, 2023
A greyhound abandons her pursuit of mechanical hares in favor of chasing her dreams in this translated Finnish import by award-winning author and artist Maijala. Rosie runs, but she never gets anywhere. After racing other dogs at the track, the exhausted white greyhound is shut in a cage, where she dreams of "forests, fields, and real hares." Winning brings no satisfaction, so one day, Rosie keeps running--past the astonished crowd, beyond the racetrack, through a forest and a city, until, at last, she reaches a park. There, two friendly dogs invite Rosie, still wearing her red racing suit, to play--and, suddenly, a new world opens up to a dog whose life was bound by the bars of a kennel and the narrow confines of a racing track. The whimsical, abstract art, executed in broad, playful, childlike strokes of oil pastel and crayon, add to the story's sense of innocent adventure and discovery. The absence of black outlines in the joyful and expressive illustrations lends a sense of fluidity in keeping with the storyline. The large trim size begs readers to notice small details about the people (who are diverse in skin tone and hair color) and bustling background scenes. Spangenberg's translation reads smoothly, capturing the poignancy of Rosie's tale and the juxtaposition between her urgent flight to freedom and the ordinary lives unfolding around her. A touching, optimistic, and charmingly rendered story of hope and resilience. (author's note, translator's note) (Picture book. 3-7)

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December 22, 2023

K-Gr 2-Rosie is a racing greyhound who manages to escape the racetrack and find a park to be with other dogs. During her magical escape, she zooms in a manic flight through a circus, houses, subways, the ocean, etc. to finally find a safe place to be herself. The book is told through full-color spreads and vignettes with facing images. The text is largely descriptive with Rosie's point of view told in the third person until the very end, when she meets other dogs. Diversity of people in this story is shown with gestural representations of the audience of crowds using color. The rough pastel drawings are beguiling and through sketched gestures show the speed of Rosie moving through the landscape. VERDICT Where dog stories are popular, or books in translation, this is a recommended purchase for its blissful adventure of Rosie the dog.-Vi Ha

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