Flatts Brown is a blues playing dog who escapes the junkyard of old A.J. Grubbs, but every time Flatts gets some attention here comes old Grubbs trying to come take Flatts back. One day Flatts plays a song to Grubbs. Grubbs's heart is touched by the song and lets Flatt's free. ( )

The fictional picture book "The Blues of Flats Brown" was written by Walter Dean Myers and illustrated by Nina Laden. This book is about a dog who lives under an abusive owner in a junkyard and decides to run away to escape the mistreatment and to play his blues music. The story begins where the dog, Flats, was born and lives in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. When his owner, A.J. Grubbs, tries to make Flats and his other dog, Caleb, fight, they both run away to Shanty Town where they begin to play in an African American club, The Curley Que. The two remain here until Grubbs finds them, and they flee to Memphis, Tennessee where Flats records his music at Imperial Records. Eventually Flats ends up in New York City, NY where Grubbs finds him again but is quickly touched by a song Flats sings specifically about his own life. The story ends after this without the reader knowing exactly what happens to Flats and Caleb, but it hints that things turn out well for them. I enjoyed this book because it is entertaining and because it uses real places for the setting. Flats begins in Mississippi and makes his way to New York because of the success of his blues music. The personification of the dogs makes the book appealing to young children who would not be able to understand other references in this book. The setting is also probably during the era when blues music became popular in the South and then moved to other parts of the country. This brings in a historical element to the story, which children would not be able to understand. Another important aspect of this book is the dialect, which reveals the setting and time period. This would be a good book for young adult readers to read and analyze. Teachers could use this book to have students research the time period in our country when blues music became popular, and they could also come up with reasons why dialect is so important for some texts. I think this is a great book for anyone, especially people who live in the South or who are familiar with blues music and its impact in history. ( )