Cat and Dog

In this gleeful tale of animal one-upmanship, a pudgy canine schemes to devour a cat's picnic lunch at the beach. He does this in classic cartoon fashion, just as a stealthy snacker would misdirect a companion's attention-""Hey, what's that over there?""-to swipe a french fry. "" `Look up,' said the dog. How many butterflies can you see?' `One,' said the cat. So the dog sneaked one small cupcake."" As the cat becomes engrossed in the game and wanders farther from the food, the dog munches two fish, three tomatoes, four sandwiches and so on. When the cat finally returns, she teases the dog for overeating, then unexpectedly asks, ""Want to play again tomorrow?"" Coplans (Dottie) leaves readers wondering whether the dog outsmarted the cat or whether the cat intentionally went along with the ploy; both characters grin mischievously. The sugary watercolors don't break new ground, but this story offers a helpful and diverting counting lesson-and adds a sly trick to readers' repertoires. Ages 2-6. (Apr.)