Lost Dog

In this offbeat I Like to Read title, a butterscotch-colored dog named Pete gets epically lost while driving to his grandmother’s house for her birthday. After exiting the highway and finding himself atop a winding mountain road in the middle of nowhere, he asks directions to Mutt Street from a bird in the desert, a book-reading leopard in the jungle, and other animals (“That way” they all respond) in what begins to feel like an actual around-the-world journey. Garland pares the text down to the bare essentials while his sculptural illustrations give the story a surreal quality that is right in step with the quirky nature of Pete’s globe-trotting voyage. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)