LOVE THAT PUPPY!

It’s a dog’s life for Peter, an ordinary boy—at first. Despite the concerns of his parents, Peter decides to become a dog. He hangs out in a doghouse, begs and even sleeps at the foot of his parents’ bed. With cartoonish illustrations and comic-book elements, Peter’s story is a series of over-the-top situations that showcase his parents’ reactions to his eating out of a dog bowl, fetching slippers and howling at the moon. Peter’s father and mother’s befuddlement at what to do with their dog…er…son—even they get confused sometimes—is rendered in appropriately broad comic expressions. Though Jarka’s illustrations are an expected blend of silly and goofy (his terrier attack on the mail is priceless), Peter’s dog ears are more bunny than pooch, long and upright, and that visual misstep might throw off readers at first. However, once the pages turn and the image imprints, even the youngest listeners will have a howling good time. (Picture book. 4-8)