Honey & Leon Take the High Road - Hardcover

ALAN CUMMING is an award-winning stage and film actor, activist, bestselling author, singer, director, and producer, and has also designed some wallpaper. On Broadway he has appeared in The Threepenny Opera, as the master of ceremonies in Cabaret (for which he won a Tony Award), in Design for Living, and in a one-man adaptation of Macbeth. His best-known film roles include his performances in Emma, GoldenEye, the Spy Kids trilogy, and X2: X-Men United. Cumming also introduces Masterpiece Mystery! for PBS and appeared on The Good Wife, for which he was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Satellite Award. Visit him on the web at alancumming.com.

GRANT SHAFFER is an artist whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and Interview magazine, among other publications. He lives in Manhattan with his husband, Alan Cumming.

PreS-Gr 1-This sequel to The Adventures of Honey and Leon takes an already thin premise and stretches it to the breaking point. When titular dogs Honey and Leon discover that their human "dads" are about to set off on another trip, they buy plane tickets, put on disguises, and shadow the men as they travel by plane, train, and boat to a remote island for a family visit. It is quickly revealed that the dads are aware of the dogs' subterfuge, and the pups have a great time "protecting" their owners, with Honey finding time for a romantic fling and Leon saving the day in a fog. The text is trite, the plot is preposterous, and the jokes and much of the content are clearly winks to the adult audience. The illustrations are appealing, with a long-armed flowing look reminiscent of Ludwig Bemelmans's work. Shaffer does a wonderful job with both point of view and variations of layout, including one page with three stacked images of the protagonists on a boat, a train, and a plane. Unfortunately, the art can't save the text, which includes the dogs dramatically saving their vegan dad from being served soup with ham in it, and a plot point that turns on Leon smelling gluten-free bagels. VERDICT This work of whimsy is clearly a celebrity vehicle, and even as a sequel, it falls flat. Libraries where the first book is popular may want to consider this one. Everyone else can pass on this sub-par sequel.-Amy Lilien-Harper, Wilton Library, CT