Sally Goes to the Beach

Understated humor infuses both the text and handsome woodcut prints in this painter and sculptor's debut children's book. Imparting a contemporary folk-art sensibility, Huneck's prints draw from a deep, sophisticated palette dominated by an appealing array of blues and greens. In short, staccato sentences, narrator Sally, a black Lab, chronicles her vacation to ""an island in the ocean."" Her dog's-eye commentary ranges from the mundane (""The sky is blue, and the sun is hot"") to the droll (as when she observes, at the beach, that ""the air smells great, just like cat food!""). Huneck knows how to juxtapose art and text for comic effect: on the ferry to the island, Sally cannot see the captain, ""but I can imagine what he looks like""; the accompanying print shows a black Lab at a ship's wheel, wearing a sailor's cap and sunglasses. Later, the beachcombing dog is pictured with first a crab and then a starfish pinching her nose as she concedes, ""I realize right away, I still have a lot to learn."" Huneck slyly keeps Sally's human owner in the background, only revealing an appendage from time to time. Sally is front and center, and deservedly so--she's one endearing pooch. Ages 4-8. (May)