POODLENA

More a walking bouffant than a dog, the pampered, penthouse-dwelling and distinctly pink Poodlena Pompadour devotes her days to grooming—"teasing her fabulous fluff—Shaving legs, painting toenails and other such stuff." Witty full-bleed paintings and time-lapse spot illustrations chronicle an elaborate regimen (including a spray application of pink dye) performed by the poodle's bald owner, who looks like something of a dandy despite his paunchy build. But while pictures show the owner's hands at work, the text declares Poodlena the mistress of her fate: "She'd fuss and she'd tweeze,/ She'd paint and she'd fluff." Only late in the day does she venture out "for the park/ for the dog time to play," as the first-time author/artist awkwardly writes; unsurprisingly, Poodlena "want[s] just to be seen." But one day Poodlena slips into the mud of the rain-soaked park and has a revelation: she'll be happier if she "fluffs a bit less/ And makes more time to play." In an abrupt ending, the rotund gentleman accommodates Poodlena's newfound desire to "chase balls on the green/ And get dirty till dark." Because the author keeps her characters at arm's length, the dog's change of heart is visually shortchanged as well; it's almost as if a spread is missing. The conceit doesn't evolve into a convincing tale. Ages 5-up. (May)