FOLEY AND JEM

When a bespectacled kid named Foley builds a rocket and sends his dog Jem to Mars—"a giant leap for dog-kind"—he never anticipates that Jem might actually like it on the Red Planet. Who knew Martians would be party-minded, canine-like critters with a ready supply of bones? "He's having all this fun without me," mourns Foley, when Jem sends back a picture. "Jem should be here with me fetching sticks, and warming my feet, and barking when I get home." Up to this point, debut author Golding offers an intriguing story, although she handles Foley's cavalier drafting of Jem rather tentatively and tends to overwrite ("They were very happy," she says, introducing the boy-dog duo. "Jem loved Foley, and Foley loved Jem"). Oliver's (the Epix series) comic-book-bright paintings buoy the premise; his rounded renderings give Foley and Jem an expressive, comic plasticity, and he endows the pooch with an initial dubiousness that makes his essential trust all the more touching. But the tale runs into serious trouble in the ending. Jem has no thoughts of leaving Mars any time soon, and the bereft Foley, hoping for Jem's return, adopts a stray puppy, dubbed Star, to fill the void ("This is going to be a great welcome home surprise for Jem," he says unconvincingly). Readers may end up feeling emotionally marooned like the hapless Foley. Ages 5-7. (Mar.)