A pampered poodle dreams of running free while his owner preps him to be a champion show-dog in this first of a projected series of Pierre adventures. Miss Murphy dotes on Pierre, puffing his pompoms, dressing him in matching coat, hat and boots for walks and taking him to the School for Show Pups and Poochelli’s Pet Parlor for weekly shampoos. Pierre loves Miss Murphy but longs to escape to the park and chase squirrels. While practicing for the championship show on the other side of town, he slips out a side door and follows his nose to a park where he romps and runs. When he returns, Miss Murphy has vanished. Lost and homeless, Pierre lives rough as he makes his way home to Miss Murphy and the good life. Beck’s softly hued colored-pencil illustrations track the wily Pierre’s hilarious fall from fluffy petted pooch in his penthouse perch to ragamuffin street dog adrift in the urban landscape. It’s a charming enough canine caper, but, like Pierre, it lacks the vigor of the classic Harry the Dirty Dog. (Picture book. 3-6)
