Pup in School

Pushy, domineering Rodney-dog inevitably wrecks the games that Pup and the other dogs play at school. Since Pup is too intimidated by this bully to say no, Rodney-dog always gets his way. But Pup gets inspired when his mother takes him to see a movie in which a canine cowboy finally learns to stand up to colleagues who boss him around. The next time Rodney-dog insists on being first, Pup simply refuses to let him, and the tormentor backs down immediately (``His nose began to quiver. All of a sudden, he burst into tears''). After playing alone for a few days, the former bad dog starts to share and play nicely with his classmates. Though it delivers an undeniably useful message, the text of Clayton's first picture book is bland and simplistic. Her sketchy, often stilted illustrations of these anthropomorphized dogs are equally uninvolving. Ages 3-6. (Aug.)