Treat

Sullivan’s Geisel Award–winning Ball got inside the mind of a ball-obsessed dog, and this equally wonderful companion book introduces a roly-poly pooch who rides a roller-coaster of emotions as he prowls, scowls, and begs his way around the house in search of something tasty. “Treat. Treat! Treat? Treat!!” he telepathically beseeches the family toddler who’s munching on cereal, throwing in some balletic moves in hopes of impressing her. But the situation is nearly hopeless: the toddler is interested only in stuffing her own face, grandma and grandpa aren’t any help, the older sister is oblivious, and did the older brother really think a crayon drawing was what the dog was after? Exhausted and disgusted, the dog falls asleep on top of the laundry and dreams of treats—dreams that soon turn to nightmares. Sullivan has created quite a treat herself: a canine hero with a one-track mind and an endlessly expressive one-word vocabulary (aided by comically frenetic typography) whose approach to thwarted desire is, as any child will recognize, all too human. Ages 4–7. [em]Agent: Justin Rucker, Shannon Associates. (Mar.) [/em]