THE CHASE

A game of fetch with one dog becomes a free-for-all as a pack of pooches eagerly follow a ball through a variety of locales.

The story starts off simply enough: just a brown-skinned child and a pup on the beach. As the youngster tosses a red ball, several other dogs join in the chase. Quickly, the number of canines participating in the game grows. They race through a museum, ride a beam on a construction crane to the top of an apartment building, and nearly splash over a waterfall, all in pursuit of the elusive red ball. Eventually, they wind up right back where they began, with the child and the ball on the beach, ready for the game to start all over again. Bloomfield’s rhyming text mimics the bouncy hops of the chase: “It’s a hustle, a bustle, a running tussle.” Each page maintains a steady cadence that makes for an ideal read-aloud. Featuring all manner of dog breeds (and one pup with wheels on its hind legs), the art brims with silly details that readers will enjoy spotting, like a museum caretaker trying to catch a falling vase, a dog splattered with pink paint, and a pup getting snagged in a tuba as the gang interrupts an outdoor musical performance.

Perfectly playful.