cover image Bailey at the Museum

Bailey at the Museum

Harry Bliss. Scholastic Press, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-545-23345-3

Precocious, school-going dog Bailey joins his human classmates on a field trip to the Museum of Natural History in his second picture book. As the class observes a dinosaur exhibits, Bailey gets distracted by T. rex bones. An understanding museum guard swoops in (“I think he’s hungry. I feel his tummy growling,” he reports), and the two become friends. Bliss strikes a note of hilarity with the combination of serious museum decorum and Bailey’s inability to follow the rules, while dialogue balloons and visual details create a busy, engrossing environment. The tender relationship between Bailey and the steadfast guard is the heart of this light, funny story. Ages 3–6. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Sept.)