KIRKUS REVIEW
Delicately limned as innocently pointy-nosed, Dottie's a dog who follows her own bent despite her worried parents. `` `Not in the GARDEN!' '' exclaims Dad when she insists on planting lettuces, `` `Gardens are for burying bones.' '' And, later, `` `Dogs don't grow things....Go out and chase a postman.' '' Undeterred but curious, Dottie conducts a small survey and finds several friends enjoying unexpected activities--a duck rollerskating, a cat sailing, a rabbit painting a picture. Rather fortuitously, since they're not in on this result, Mom and Dad come around (they have remembered that they enjoy eating lettuce- -and the strawberries they've seen in Dottie's extended plot) and present her with a set of garden tools. The lesson on feeling free to escape stereotypical roles is amply leavened by Dottie's blithe self-assurance and the gently satirical tone that pervades both the text and the author's cartoony illustrations. (Picture book. 4-8)