THE ADVENTURES OF TAXI DOG

For one stray, a unique solution to the homeless problem: Maxi, a retriever, like dog who wanders the streets in hopes of something to eat, is adopted by Jim, a lonely taxi-driver who not only gives him a home but shares the front seat of his cab with him while he works. Maxi's doggerel bumbles (""With someone to love me/And take good care of me--/No longer would I have to roam""), and his subsequent adventures are limited to meeting a few interesting passengers; but his story is as ingenuously good-humored as a bumptious family pet--and considerably enhanced by Buehner's sturdy paintings with their brash colors, Hopper-like light, and b&w checked borders on glowing taxi yellow. Especially for the illustrator, an auspicious debut.