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Dash #1
Dash and Dart
Great vintage children's book!
75 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1942
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107 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 16, 2018
It's an incredible feat to publish a children's book while WWII is going on. I assume that is why the color is white and brown only. These are beautiful drawings of nature. Still, it is a lot of paper for a story during the war. 70 pages.
The story is about 2 young deer and a year in their life in the woods. Bambi came out right before this was published, so it was a popular subject at the time. The story is sweet and reads quickly, yet still a little too long.
The kids weren't crazy about it and they didn't dislike it. It was a neutral story for them. I am glad I read this book. I find these books from the war period kind of fascinating. The 30s and then during the 40s during the war is not a great time to be a publisher is my guess.
The story is about 2 young deer and a year in their life in the woods. Bambi came out right before this was published, so it was a popular subject at the time. The story is sweet and reads quickly, yet still a little too long.
The kids weren't crazy about it and they didn't dislike it. It was a neutral story for them. I am glad I read this book. I find these books from the war period kind of fascinating. The 30s and then during the 40s during the war is not a great time to be a publisher is my guess.
April 26, 2009
The forest is great.
It is big.
It is dark.
Tall trees sway overhead.
They bend their branches down
As if they want to look at something,
Something in the fern bed,
Something lying in the green ferns.
When I was about right, I had a book that I loved for its pictures, a story about twin fawns in the forest. Somewhere along the line the book disappeared, and I searched for years, going through used book stores, looking for the book about fawns. I thought it was called Dot and Dash, but recently while scanning lists of Caldecott honor books I recognized the real title, Dash and Dart.
It isn't flashy. The illustrations are all done in sepia, soft drawing of pine branches, butterflies, squirrels, and deer - all drawn by Swiss American artist Conrad Buff. The story, written in a rhythmic prose/poetry style, tells the story of Dash, the female fawn, and her brother Dart. In particular the lines focus on Dart, who longs to grow and have antlers. The animals are presented as real deer; they don't talk or have exaggerated features. It is a simple story that tells about the first year in a deer's life without gimmicks, but with respect and affection. I'm delighted to find a copy to reread.
It is big.
It is dark.
Tall trees sway overhead.
They bend their branches down
As if they want to look at something,
Something in the fern bed,
Something lying in the green ferns.
When I was about right, I had a book that I loved for its pictures, a story about twin fawns in the forest. Somewhere along the line the book disappeared, and I searched for years, going through used book stores, looking for the book about fawns. I thought it was called Dot and Dash, but recently while scanning lists of Caldecott honor books I recognized the real title, Dash and Dart.
It isn't flashy. The illustrations are all done in sepia, soft drawing of pine branches, butterflies, squirrels, and deer - all drawn by Swiss American artist Conrad Buff. The story, written in a rhythmic prose/poetry style, tells the story of Dash, the female fawn, and her brother Dart. In particular the lines focus on Dart, who longs to grow and have antlers. The animals are presented as real deer; they don't talk or have exaggerated features. It is a simple story that tells about the first year in a deer's life without gimmicks, but with respect and affection. I'm delighted to find a copy to reread.
May 20, 2019
Opening in a great forest, in a quiet, green bed of ferns where a little fawn lies concealed, this poetic picture-book/early-reader describes the first year of life of two young cervine siblings, Dash and Dart. Struggling to find their feet as newborns, nuzzling Mother Doe for milk, they must slowly learn the ways of the forest, from the sounds and scents of danger to the seasonal migration out of the mountains. Spending their first winter in the lowlands, the two fawns encounter other deer for the first time - including the awe-inspiring Old Horny, King of the Forest - and discover how to forage for their own food. Their return to the mountains in the spring sees them newly independent and, in Dash's case, looking forward to the growth of his first antlers. Perhaps one day, he muses to himself, he will be the King of the Forest...
Chosen as one of two Caldecott Honor Books in 1943 - the other title to be chosen was Clare Turlay Newberry's - this sweet little volume has a gentle charm that is very appealing, quietly casting its spell over the reader. The text is presented in free form prose (almost free verse) divided into very brief sections or chapters, and is accompanied by lovely sepia-toned illustrations - in pencil, I think? - some presented on the page facing the text, some on the same page as the text, and some on two-page wordless spreads intermingled with the text. Although the title implies that this is the story of both Dash and Dart, there's no question that this is really Dash's story - his activities predominate, and his aspirations form the conclusion of the book. I believe that there is a sequel, , that details how he did indeed come to be King of the Forest. Recommended to young forest lovers, particularly those with a weakness for stories (such as ) about young fawns.
Chosen as one of two Caldecott Honor Books in 1943 - the other title to be chosen was Clare Turlay Newberry's - this sweet little volume has a gentle charm that is very appealing, quietly casting its spell over the reader. The text is presented in free form prose (almost free verse) divided into very brief sections or chapters, and is accompanied by lovely sepia-toned illustrations - in pencil, I think? - some presented on the page facing the text, some on the same page as the text, and some on two-page wordless spreads intermingled with the text. Although the title implies that this is the story of both Dash and Dart, there's no question that this is really Dash's story - his activities predominate, and his aspirations form the conclusion of the book. I believe that there is a sequel, , that details how he did indeed come to be King of the Forest. Recommended to young forest lovers, particularly those with a weakness for stories (such as ) about young fawns.
January 14, 2012
I read this one aloud to the Bud - it was longer, but he said he liked it. His favorite part was when Dash got his antlers.
Reading it aloud made me appreciate the poetic cadence of the writing.
I agree with Ed's review comparing the illustrations to old sepia-tone photographs.
Reading it aloud made me appreciate the poetic cadence of the writing.
I agree with Ed's review comparing the illustrations to old sepia-tone photographs.
February 10, 2022
I'm so glad I found this book on my quest to read all the Caldecott books. Mary and Conrad Buff were married collaborators who wrote and illustrated children's books. I believe that Conrad created the illustrations for this one, but I'm not sure. And there are two distinctly different kinds of illustrations here: 1)painted landscapes and 2)soft, beautiful, ethereal brown and white drawings. The drawings were so sweet and beautiful that they almost brought tears to my eyes. The story is nice and informative, but it pales in comparison to the drawings (which is only to be expected in a Caldecott book).
February 2, 2013
This is a longer book, with a fairly high proportion of text, but it is subdivided into sections which don't require one continuous read. Spanning a year in the life of a fawn as it grows up, a reading with a child has the potential to give a child to voice their feelings about growing up - thankfully, this isn't even hinted at in the book, so neither should the adult reader for a child. The book has a little of the cuteness that baby animals, especially fawns, seem to evoke, but the book doesn't overdo that. The illustrations for this book, done in brown on white paper, are straightforward sketches - I wish they were printed with a little higher contrast as they seem to be fading away without the deepest browns and brightest whites - very evocative and well matched to the verse. The two-page illustrations had the potential to be stunning, but instead lose some of their definition with the same low-contract problem, heightened because the page is mostly brown (as opposed to the other pages that are predominantly white. Too bad.
October 5, 2017
I really liked Dash and Dart. It’s written more like an easy reader than a picture book, though I’m not sure it has the controlled vocabulary that true easy readers do. I liked learning about the different stages a baby deer goes through, and though “Old Horny� is kind of an unfortunate name for a handsome buck, I liked the way Dash looked up to him. The scene where Dash does not recognize himself in the pond is kind of a cliche, but otherwise I thought this was a unique way to teach kids the details about how deer grow up.
July 14, 2013
My first thought with this 1943 Caldecott Honor winner unfortunately was geez this book is long! I realize that that was the habit with books from the 1930s-50s, but this may be the longest one so far at 73 pages. Granted it is a poetry book and one continuous story, but it took 3-4 nights to read this to my son. I enjoyed the mostly black and white illustrations and story through rhyming poetry about two young fawns named Dash and Dart, who grow up in the forest. Recommended for ages 4-7, 3 stars.
January 16, 2018
� 1943 Caldecott Honor Book �
This was pleasant to read, but a little dull. Dash and Dart are twin fauns who are growing up and exploring the world. The text is really long but they’re poems, so can be broken into sections. The drawings are decent.
Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted
This was pleasant to read, but a little dull. Dash and Dart are twin fauns who are growing up and exploring the world. The text is really long but they’re poems, so can be broken into sections. The drawings are decent.
Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted
September 4, 2016
Twin deer are born and live their first year.
Caldecott honor
Caldecott honor
January 10, 2012
Very nice book, with simple illustrations. I love the two page spread illustrations, that are almost like sepia photographs.
March 25, 2012
Caldecott Honor--1943
October 15, 2012
See my review at !
April 18, 2016
This is the story of two deer. The illustrations are great, but the story is too long.
May 29, 2013
1943 Caldecott Honor
Great pencil illustrations.
Great pencil illustrations.
July 29, 2019
Pseudo-beginning reader with nice full page spreads. Wish there had been more about Dart (female) instead of just Dash (male).
June 25, 2019
Read on loan from the Internet Archive.
This reads most like an early chapter book, with headings splitting the simple text into short chapters. Plus gorgeous illustrations. Many pages have sepia charcoal drawings, with a few full color spreads throughout the book. It was really beautiful. This is the story of twin fawns, and the first year of their life. It is slightly anthropomorphic, as the deer are given some thoughts and emotions, but largely accurate nature.
This reads most like an early chapter book, with headings splitting the simple text into short chapters. Plus gorgeous illustrations. Many pages have sepia charcoal drawings, with a few full color spreads throughout the book. It was really beautiful. This is the story of twin fawns, and the first year of their life. It is slightly anthropomorphic, as the deer are given some thoughts and emotions, but largely accurate nature.
May 3, 2019
You could have left Dart out of the story all together. It's really all about Dash and "Oh yeah, he has a twin sister too. She's here...sometimes..." The writing is also very repetitive but not in a good, lyrical way that helps children learn a story.
July 22, 2022
Great story of 2 fawns as they grow up through the different seasons.
July 15, 2024
Two fawns grow up in the forest. Illustrations seem subpar but it could be at least partially the printing quality of the day.
April 16, 2012
1943 Caldecott Honor
Favorite illustration: An early picture in the book with a young fawn sheltering under a fern-like bush.
Favorite line: "Sometimes the fawns find great clump of mistletoe/That the winds have blown from the trees./And they feast and grow."
Kid-appeal: In many ways, it reminds me of the early scenes of the Disney's Bambi movie as we see the young deer become acquainted with the world. It seemed long to me and lacked any plot.
Favorite illustration: An early picture in the book with a young fawn sheltering under a fern-like bush.
Favorite line: "Sometimes the fawns find great clump of mistletoe/That the winds have blown from the trees./And they feast and grow."
Kid-appeal: In many ways, it reminds me of the early scenes of the Disney's Bambi movie as we see the young deer become acquainted with the world. It seemed long to me and lacked any plot.
October 7, 2023
This book is called Dash and Dart, who are deer twins, but it is mostly about Dash. Dash is the boy deer, and the story is about how he grows and learns how to be a deer and eat and escape from bears. I really enjoyed the artwork of the animals. The story was interesting.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
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