Oliver, illustrator of Foley and Jem
, has found his niche in technology-themed graphics. In this sentimental tale, he imagines a factory of sooty-black, pot-belly-stove machines that fabricate identical silver dogs. The toy pooches are packed in corrugated cardboard boxes with see-through plastic windows (duplicated by this paper-over-board book's brown, die-cut cover) and shipped to a faraway village. No humans appear, but their presence is implied: "The dogs were very happy because all dogs, even robot dogs, want an owner." At the thought of an owner, one metallic puppy feels "too excited to sit still" and slips off the conveyor belt. According to the book, he is dented in his fall, although no dent is visible in Oliver's technically proficient paintings. Instantly, a disembodied voice announces, "Scrap!" The pup, who decides that Scrap must be his name, slides down a gray tube into a junkyard. Ultimately Scrap and other discarded mechanical dogs build a creepy but amiable Frankenstein robot so they can have a master. Oliver, whose end pages mimic blueprints for the perfect robot dog, superficially revisits the "unwanted toy" formula. Shaun Tan's recent The Lost Thing
takes the theme of industry and garbage to a more thoughtful conclusion. Ages 3-7. (Oct.)
