Rodeo Pup

A black-and-white spotted pooch who learns how to floss his teeth stars in Rotenberg's rather one-dimensional first book. ""My dog Rodeo Pup is much smarter than he looks,"" begins the text on the left-hand white page, framed by a jagged cutout border, while a quick-brush painting of the frantic Rodeo Pup occupies the right. Other monotonous portraits follow, featuring the salt-and-pepper pup in the same body-stretch pose going either left or right, red tongue, red leash or red floss dangling from his mouth. Despite the narrator's boasting of his abilities (""Well. Father was amazed. Mother was speechless. My brother took a picture""), readers will likely be unimpressed by Rodeo's talents for unraveling fishnet stockings and using string for dental floss. Axiomatic captions that run along the top of the art spout advice to pet owners (e.g., ""A dog's yard must be secure to keep him safe from harm""); they tend to diffuse the narrative rather than underscore it. Readers can get a peek at the pup by visiting his Web site (www. rodeopup.com), printed on the final page of the book. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)