GREAT-AUNT IDA AND HER GREAT DANE, DOC

Skateboarding down the block for his weekly visit with his elderly aunt, the peppy, freckled kid, sweatband holding his squared-off red hair bolt upright, dolefully anticipates the usual tedium while Aunt Ida stops to chat with friends during their walk with her Great Dane. ``If Doc and me could have our own way/We'd get up and GO, MAN, GO!'' While he endures the sedate pace, the boy imagines what he and the dog could do if they escaped: ``rope cattle on the prairie,'' perform in a circus... But when an awesome-looking pack of strays threatens, it's Aund Ida who has the gumption to shout, `` `SHOOOOO!' And they do!'' Komaiko's perky verse, an unusually felicitous marriage of story and playful use of language keeps the story skipping along at a pace precluding any boredom in the audience, while Schindler's witty, dynamic illustrations are right in step. The huge, bumptious dog, sturdy kid, and jowly old lady (who has a twinkle in her eye from the start) make a likable trio. (Picture book. 4-8)