Pat the Puppy

Kunhardt ( Pat the Cat ) expands upon the tradition begun by her mother, Dorothy Kunhardt, creator of Pat the Bunny . While the look and sound of the 1940 classic certainly served as the model for this volume's soothing, sparsely worded text and its simple, cheerful artwork, the mores and technology of the present day make themselves known. When Tom and Sarah visit their grandparents, it is Grandpa's brownies that fill the kitchen with their aroma (vigorous scratching and sniffing allow readers an ever-so-faint chocolatey whiff). After their snack, the children sit in a rocking chair (which moves back and forth via a tab) and watch a videotape of themselves as infants: a cardboard wheel set into the page rotates, revealing an assortment of baby pictures. The book's final spread features less new-fangled technology: when the children return home, their puppy signals his joy with his waggable tail. Sure to engage its audience's senses, this volume is as sweet-natured as its predecessors. Ages 18 mos.--3 yrs. (Oct.)