Charlies Checklist

Charlie, the black-and-white puppy protagonist of this British import, aspires to city life. As soon as he is old enough to use the telephone and write with a black pen, he places an ad in a London newspaper. The ad, specifying that he is ""young, naive, and irresistible,"" garners a heap of mail from would-be caretakers. With help from Chester, a farm boy, Charlie evaluates the letters according to a ""checklist."" His perfect match must ""have room for me... be kind to animals... provide me with a stable home."" At the last moment, Charlie has an epiphany: Chester--and the countryside--offer all the contentment he seeks. First-time author Lerman blurs the line between puppy and human, so that best friends Charlie and Chester play cards and communicate with ease. Bartlett (Oliver's Vegetables) saturates the spreads with cheerful, warm color; the grass on this farm simply couldn't be any greener, or the cloudless sky any bluer. Imprecise brushstrokes convey the bucolic simplicity that Charlie, just in time, learns to appreciate--and freshen up the well-worn moral about happiness being right in your own backyard. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)