A little boy dresses his black dog from head to toe in everything from underpants to jacket and socks: “I like the shirt with stripes, do you? Up, Black Dog, It’s too hard to dress you when you’re lying down.” The little boy is clearly in charge, choosing the various items of clothing and colors for his pet’s outfit, mixing and matching stripes, dots, and solids. He then retreats behind the puppet stage to dress himself, emerging as a canine complete in black doggy costume. Patience, perseverance, and playful role reversal are casually portrayed through this genial display of a preschooler’s daily dressing ritual, one that parents and children will recognize. Basic outlined gouache illustrations in bright teals and purples delineate both boy and dog’s fun-loving actions. Sweet toddler amusement. (Picture book. 1-3)
