Gulliver enjoys the finer things in life. He loves gourmet cuisine, Italian opera and fashion. He lives in one of the most exclusive addresses in Manhattan and enjoys long walks in Washington Square Park near his home. But most of all he looks forward to his annual trip to Paris, where he and his girlfriend Chloe share fabulous French cuisine. All in all, it's not a bad life for a dog.
Oh, did I forget to mention that Gulliver is a dog? A Lhasa apso, to be precise? That's not surprising, considering that Gulliver himself, with his fashionable jewel-studded collar, Prime Premium dog food and regular grooming appointments, sometimes forgets that he has anything in common with those mutts he sometimes runs into at the dog park.
But when Gulliver's owner, a cultured NYU English professor who apparently enjoys the duo's annual trips to France even more than his pet, falls in love with a French woman who happens to be allergic to long-haired dogs, Gulliver is cruelly reminded that he is a canine. Abruptly, his owner willingly --- and far too easily --- gives Gulliver (or Gully, as he'll soon be dubbed) to his doorman, who takes him back to his family in Queens, a borough so remote that Gully wasn't even aware it was part of the same city as Manhattan. There he's mauled by the neighborhood children, terrorized by the family's three mixed-breed dogs, and eventually befriended by a street-smart gerbil named J.C.
Convinced that this new life is the ultimate insult to his noble pedigree, refusing to believe that Professor Rattigan willingly left him in this new environment, Gully goes to incredible lengths --- and practically halfway across the world --- to find the place where he really belongs. But when human loyalty is put to the test, Gully discovers that his real home --- and the person he was destined to belong to --- might be found in a most unexpected place after all.
It sometimes seems rare to find an uplifting dog story, one where the dog is not mistreated, horribly injured, or dead by the end. GULLY'S TRAVELS is just that book. It imparts critical lessons about loyalty, family and privilege without ever being preachy, and it introduces a dog whom readers may initially envy, then pity, then admire as he undergoes his own personal coming-of-age. The narrative moves quickly from episode to episode, as Gully makes some brave travels indeed --- whether between continents or just between boroughs.
The only exception is an awkward decision to tell a major portion of Gully's dramatic story through the voice of a human friend, only to retell it from Gully's own perspective. This brief slow-down in the action, however, can be forgiven in what is, overall, a thoroughly appealing novel. Tor Seidler's engaging prose is matched by Brock Cole's expressive illustrations, which effectively capture, in a few well-chosen lines, Seidler's transformation of Gulliver to Gully. The numerous illustrations make this a perfect family read-aloud, ideal for any children who have ever loved --- or wanted to love --- a dog of their own.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
