Sleepy Pendoodle

An Irish folk tale was Doyle’s inspiration for this rhythmic account of a small girl’s attempts to recall the precise words of her Uncle Hughie’s invocation to awaken the abandoned newborn pup she has found in an alley. As she encounters various neighbours on the way back from her Uncle’s, these all important words get muddled up and now, back home, it seems that they will never come to her. But then the words just fall into place and, seemingly in recognition of his true name, Pendoodle opens his eyes and is transformed into a yapping, yelping, tail-wagging pup.

Vivas’s subtle watercolours, set against a stark white background, expressively convey the spirit of the young heroine and the transformation of the puppy. As the awakening draws nearer so too does the focus of our attention, drawn in by Vivas’s increasingly close-up views of girl and pup.