Speak!: Children's Book Illustrators Brag about Their Dogs

If every dog has its day, that day has come for the canine companions of 43 children's book illustrators, each asked by Rosen to contribute a vignette to this picture book fund-raiser for various animal welfare organizations. In theory, the project seems invincible--after all, who could resist the lure of Petra Mathers's tidily sequenced scenarios with text in the voice of one Buddy-Boy (``I come from Bide-a-Wee. I have no pedigree. My past's a mystery. . . .''); Lane Smith's Miro-esque painting of his second-grade class's dog show; Alexandra Day's description of her rottweiler, who performed messenger service when Day was ill. But the package doesn't completely work. Despite the oversize pages, most spreads are painfully cramped. The pairings of various artists rarely enhance the individual contributions--for example, Seymour Chwast's heartfelt remarks about the death of a dog appear opposite James Ransome's romping verse about his ``polka-dotted, liver-spotted / rollicking, frolicking'' dalmatian. The texts themselves vary widely, from succintly told tales, like Day's, to the stylized (Marc Rosenthal: ``My father-in-law Jack's dog story #6'') to the overly sentimental. While the lack of organization may vex younger readers, specific components of this conglomeration could set adults' tongues a-wagging. All ages. (Sept.)