Strange and Wonderful Tale of Robert McDoodle: The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Dog

This book's cover image foreshadows what's to come: a freckled boy clenches a rawhide chew-toy in his jaws and sports a collar with a silver tag engraved ""Spot."" For his sixth birthday, Robert McDoodle wants four legs and a tail. Sadly for him, ""Adding insult to injury, brickbat to hurt,/ for his birthday his parents had bought him a shirt."" Robert takes matters into his own paws by enrolling at the Jellicoe school, a doggy boot camp where the drill sergeant is a German shepherd. He receives instruction in chasing squirrels and digging holes, but he's ""dog-tired."" After a birthday party with his canine classmates and his parents, Robert opts to rejoin ""his own kind,"" with a pet puppy in tow. Adult novelist Bauer's (Satyrday) first children's book boasts sprightly couplets and triplets that scan well. The controlled rhyme scheme yields some strained phrases and word choices (like the character's name, matched with ""kit and caboodle"" and ""Szechwan noodles""). Sneed (Higgins Bend Song and Dance) contributes polished watercolors of Robert's doglike behavior, but like the text, these images have a forced, false cheerfulness. Views of Robert ""marking"" territory and peering into a dog's alternate water dish--the toilet--are calculated to amuse, but this story never breaks free of its tight leash. Ages 5-9. (Sept.)