cover image HAPPY DOG!

HAPPY DOG!

Lisa Grubb, . . Philomel, $16.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-399-23707-2

On a rainy Saturday, Jack Cat gets out his art supplies. He paints a large blue dog with a red collar, a yellow nose and a barbell-like golden bone to chew on. "A new friend! I'll call him Happy Dog," Jack decides as the character leaps off the canvas. As Happy Dog runs outside into the drizzle, Jack warns him to "wait!... Your paint isn't dry yet!" and takes him back inside to repair his rinsed-off color. They while away the day by making new pictures and imagining adventures. Grubb, in her debut, describes their efforts in awkward prose: "They painted a giant castle.... Then they painted a starship and rode to the moon. And a big, red fire engine with a bell." While the narrative is leaden and dull, the acrylic paintings boggle the eye. Grubb layers hues of curry yellow, salsa red and zingy aqua over a solid black base coat, and surrounds the heavy shapes with squiggly motion lines going every which way. Patriotic flourishes, like Jack's red-striped T-shirt with blue jeans, blue-and-white starred curtains, and small American flag decorations, add to the visual cacophony. Happy Dog himself has sharp, angular leg joints and misshapen, water-balloon–like paws that give him an off-balance appearance. Unfortunately, the overall effect of all these components is unsettling. Ages 3-5. (May)