WALTER'S TAIL

Everybody thinks old Mrs. Tully's new puppy is adorable, especially his ever-wagging tail—until he gets big and bumptious and the tail becomes a constant menace at home, where it sweeps things like vases and puzzles off tables, and downtown, where it removes the bride and groom from a wedding cake at the baker's. Despondent, Mrs. Tully walks the dog up the mountain, where she gets her foot caught between two rocks. It's not clear just how (nor is it likely), but Walter gets his tail sufficiently entangled in her red shawl to wave it as a flag of distress, thus summoning help and becoming a hero. A familiar outline, but Walter makes an engaging hero, especially in Ernst's vigorously limned illustrations; and, of course, the perils of an overenthusiastic body that gets unexpectedly large will be appreciated by many children. (Picture book. 4-8)