Cookie Meets Peanut

Media personality Frankel debuts with an uninspiring story drawn from her own experiences with her daughter and dog. Mommy and her dog, Cookie, have a lovely urban life together, taking "walksies," window-shopping at "Bark Jacobs," and getting coffee at "Starbarks." But the arrival of a blond baby girl, Peanut, interrupts the routine Cookie so loves. Working in digital media, Roode (the Little Bea books) brings a kewpie-doll cutesiness to the characters, human and canine alike, along with a chic midcentury-meets-modern aesthetic. While readers are sure to sympathize with Cookie's unhappiness, neither Mommy nor Cookie appears to care about it much. "Bye, Cookie. We'll be home soon," they say, leaving Cookie alone in the apartment, leash in mouth (throughout, the subtext seems to be: "Deal with it, dog"). More egregious, though, are the "sly" plugs for Skinnygirl products%E2%80%94alcohol bottles in the kitchen provide a visual reminder of the cocktail line she founded, and a version of the silhouetted Skinnygirl logo appears on a billboard and on Mommy's apron. Ages 3%E2%80%936. Author's agent: Andy McNicol, William Morris Endeavor. Illustrator's agency: Lilla Rogers Studio. (Sept.)