HAS ANYONE SEEN WINNIE AND JEAN?

A matched pair of mischievous dogs, Winnie and Jean, escape from suburbia by tunneling under the fence in their yard. Pursued by both their young owners and the police, the dogs spend a week on the lam, stealing food and romping around a golf course. When Winnie falls into a ravine, loyal Jean barks an alert until the police arrive for a dramatic nighttime rescue. Appealing gouache illustrations in a large format make the simple but exciting plot easy to follow, even for younger preschoolers. The short, rhyming text uses a refrain of the dogs’ names, but the repeated rhyming pair of “been” and “Jean” requires either the British pronunciation of “been” or an explanation that the word is pronounced differently in other countries. The entire story has a British flavor, from an opening reference to tea-time to the plaid dog coats to the choice of dog: corgis, the breed favored by Queen Elizabeth II. Since the two dogs escape once more on the final page, could Winnie and Jean again be seen, next time with the queen? (Picture book. 3-6)