Soft-focus, charming pastel illustrations are the defining feature of this appealing story of a preschool-aged little girl interacting with her new puppy. The simple text uses a question-and-answer format with a repeating question structure (“What’s puppy doing?”) and short answers describing the puppy’s behavior. The thoughtful design includes a larger type size for the questions, predictable placement of the questions on left-hand pages (followed by one or more pages describing the corresponding answer) and double-page-spread illustrations that will work well in front of a group of children. Cowen-Fletcher’s illustrations are just right, with a giggling, curly-headed little girl and a wriggling little puppy that will appeal to both children and adults. An additional positive point is that both the child and the dog are girls, a plus in a subject area crowded with male dogs. The deceptively simple story can be used with a wide variety of ages: from toddlers ready for a first, simple story structure to preschool storytimes featuring puppies to emerging readers ready to try a story with just a few lines of text. A sweet but not saccharine treat. (Picture book. 1-6)
