Smart George

Last seen in 1999, George isn’t a day older or any less stubborn. George’s mom is attempting to teach arithmetic (“One plus one equals what, George?”), which the pup is assiduously avoiding (“First, you have to feed me”). But when he tries to escape by napping, the result is an all too relevant dream: he finds himself in a multicolored grove of patient but firmly pedagogical trees that insist he add them up to 10. Despite George’s attempts to halt the lesson (“I added all the way up to five. Good dog, George! Take the rest of the day off”), he finally succeeds, and the post-dream walk with Mother, populated by several familiar characters, proves that math has its applications in the real world—a joyful discovery when that world is shaped by Feiffer’s dancing, emphatic ink line (which captures George as both kid surrogate and red-blooded canine) and snappy, irreverent humor. Here’s hoping the wait for the next George book won’t be so doggone long. Ages 4–8. [em](June) [/em]