A DOG NEEDS A BONE!
by Audrey Wood & illustrated by Audrey Wood
What does dog need? Wood creates an appealing, crayon-colored, cartoon dog on grocery-bag paper, who promises to sweep, answer the phone and treat his owner like a “queen on a throne,” which rhymes with what he entreats for with all his being, expression sincere and appealing. High comic energy suffuses the roly-poly dog, whose sweeping, phone answering and other services make a royal mess. His unwavering focus enumerates all the minor wrongs he will never perform again, if only: never to chase the cat, dig up flowers and unroll all the toilet paper. All the while, he’s demonstrating what he will not do again. The rhyming rolls off the tongue, begging to be recited, yet for the “poor dog” there are no real bones in the house, just teasing reminders, as just about everything in the house is decorated with them, including mistress’s earrings, hair clip, dress and shoes, to name a few. Children will enjoy looking and finding bone shapes everywhere and will hope that his mistress will give him more than the offered carrot, broccoli, squash and peas—from endpapers to endpapers, a most satisfying well-earned bone. (Picture book. 3-5)