Jessica the Blue Streak: Story and Pictures

Not content with a household that already includes five children and two dogs, the father of the family arrives home with a new puppy. The wiry black bundle, named Jessica, comes with a collar, some puppy chow and a crate, and isn't home for two minutes before she has a run-in with one of the two older dogs in the family. Then Jessica tears through the house, slides on rugs, tinkles on the stairs and jumps on the beds, earning her the name ``blue streak.'' But the worst problem comes at night, when Jessica is locked in her crate. Her howls and yips keep everyone from sleep, until the father takes the new puppy, literally, in hand. This refreshingly simple book, told from the child's point of view, is replete with all the frustration connected with owning a new pet yet allows the tender side of the story to shine through. Stevenson's distinctive watercolorsby turn genuinely funny and touchingare bursting with energy and bathed in generous applications of color. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)