Review Detail

I liked that the illustrations were a mix of detailed backgrounds, like Lucky finding small endangered rodents in a forest, and portraits surrounded by a lot of white space. This highlights individual dogs while also giving a good look at the situations in which they find themselves. The white space makes it easier to see the text; on some of the detailed back drops, the words are in almost the same color as the dirt or grass, which makes them hard to see. I wish the print had been in white; just make sure you don't miss those bits of the story!

Coco has such a friendly face, and takes such joy in cuddling, that it's hard to find any fault with his "limited" abilities. Also, everyone knows that Coco isn't just cuddling; he's clearly protecting humans from the grave danger imposed by squirrels, mailmen, and the wind!

It's good for young readers to understand that there are pets, and there are service dogs, and sometimes the two are one and the save. Add What Coco Can Do to the growing number of picture books that celebrate the different careers of our canine friends like Papp's Madeline Finn and the Library Dog, Gianferrari and Lobo's To Dogs, With Love, Ashman and Judd's Wonder Dogs, and Frey and Nacua's Alice Eloise's Silver Linings: The Story of a Silly Service Dog.