With the simplest of rhyming phrases and clockwork pacing, first-time picture book creator Leeza Hernandez tells of a dog lost and found.
A redheaded boy plays Frisbee with a tan pooch with a brown spot over its left eye, "Happy dog." The wagging canine appears to be eyeing the red disc, but on closer inspection, it's the boy's stuffed dinosaur the pup covets. Grabbing the dino from the boy's toy chest, he growls and the boy says, "Settle down you snappy dog." The dino ends up in tatters, and the boy gets angry ("Put that down, you bad dog!"), so the pup leaps through an open window ("Dog gone!"). A pair of vignettes plus an aerial view show the pet's path to a rainy alleyway where other strays gather and keep the fellow company. Luckily, the boy finds his runaway ("Here, dog!/ Dear dog./ No more need to fear, dog") and takes him home for a toweling off and a cuddle. (A feral cat also finds its way into their home.)
Hernandez demonstrates the possibilities of bare-bones, mostly two-word phrases to carry the action. Except for the titular climactic phrase, the rhymes come in threes. She creates interiors in sunny yellows, reds and pea-greens, and outdoor scenes of the lost dog enveloped in charcoal, blue-gray and brown. Her "digital fusion," mixed-media illustrations appear as if they were rendered with woodblocks; the solid planes of color possess an appealing faded quality that adds warmth to the irresistible bond between boy and dog. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness