THE PERFECT CLUBHOUSE

It’s that ancient urge: a room of one’s own; better yet, a clubhouse of mates. But the four friends from The Saturday Escape (2001) soon learn that one dog’s dream clubhouse doesn’t jibe with that of the goat or horse or pig. After all the camaraderie of building the house, the spirit of the place melts into air as the friends pursue their separate interests. They soon enough discover that a clubhouse can be a home of many rooms, and all becomes right in their small world—until, of course, they start thinking about how to make it better still. If the story line isn’t especially memorable—it turns on epiphany rather than narrative inventiveness—the telling is: “Stanley Bartholomew! What did I tell you about conducting science experiments in the house?” “But Mom . . . We’re pushing back the frontiers of knowledge.” And the art is in another league altogether, with multiple panels of genial, graphic watercolors that ought to light a spark in young readers to start building. (Picture book. 4-7)