Three - by Stephen Michael King (Hardcover)

About the Book

"First published by Scholastic Australia in 2019"--Copyright page.

Book Synopsis

A heartwarming story of a three-legged dog who follows his nose all over the city, out to the country, and into the arms of a new friend.

One, two, three...
One, two, three...
Every day was a skip
And a hop
For Three.

As a three-legged dog on his own in the big city, Three does pretty well for himself. His waggly tail keeps him fed, and he meets so many different legged creatures along the way. He's happy just the way he is, but sometimes he wonders what it'd be like to have a real home. That all changes when he wanders into the country and meets a quirky young girl and her welcoming family.

Review Quotes

"That . . . Three find[s] happiness comes as no surprise, but it warms the heart nonetheless."--The Wall Street Journal

"King's uncluttered and cheerful pencil and watercolor illustrations allow readers to confirm the identities of the animals under discussion. Expect lots of interaction--counting, adding, and even tracing Three's routes on two map-like spreads--when reading this aloud. One engaging story + three legs + six legs = a perfect 10." --The Horn Book

"what gives the story its propulsion is Three's very doggy, glass-half-full attitude that a creature's number of legs is simply an interesting feature (an attitude that may come more easily to a quadruped than a biped). The loose-sketch-style illustrations filled with relaxed washes of color visually underscore Three's positive approach to life. . . . An uplifting story with amiable verve."--Kirkus Reviews

"A small, city-dwelling stray with a sunny disposition is unruffled by his missing right foreleg . . . Loose-lined mixed-media drawings by King (Wandering Star), though, offer a wealth of city stores, sidewalk scenes, and map-like streets, through which Three's path appears as a dotted red line as he follows a shift in circumstances." --Publishers Weekly

"A fabulous choice for all libraries to add enrichment in empathy and optimism."--School Library Journal

"The whimsy about leg numbers gives offbeat dimension to this story of a dog who finds an owner, and it also briskly frames Three's leg count as being just one of many leg-number variants rather than a special condition. Scrawled line and watercolor art touched with pencil textures is breezy and upbeat"--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

About the Author

Stephen Michael King has illustrated more than fifty books including Prudence Wants a Pet and has both written and illustrated several others, including Mutt Dog! and Leaf. He lives with his family on a small island off the coast of New South Wales, Australia.