This sweet book tells the story of a dog—that's Katie—who is utterly infatuated with her owner's new kittens. “Aroooooo!
” howls Katie eagerly whenever she sees the tiny felines, but her vocalizing, leaping and avid tail-wagging only scare the living daylights out of them. Katie learns, after some setbacks (readers will totally sympathize), that desperately wanting to make friends is not necessarily a good starting point; sometimes, it's better to let the other side take the lead. Himmelman's (Chickens to the Rescue
) empathetic, economical text builds dramatic tension and the audience's identification with Katie without an excess of anthropomorphizing. The pencil and ink drawings evince the same combination of craft and tenderness. Katie is the very picture of openheartedness, confusion and contrition, and readers will root for her from the very first page. Ages 3–8. (Sept.)
