A Place for Grace

This pooch is in disgrace. Poor Grace's dreams of becoming a seeing-eye dog have been rudely squelched: she's too small. Expelled from training school, she saves a boy who darts out into the path of an oncoming fire engine and is promptly collared for the Hearing Dog program. This time her size is an asset, as hearing dogs must be able to spring lightly into the air to alert their deaf owners to sounds. But Grace mixes up the microwave beep with the doorbell and completely flunks Wake Up class (she jumps on the bed and goes to sleep at the sound of the alarm clock). Determined to help her graduate, her new owner cleverly personalizes her training and ``snooze-alarm Grace'' finally succeeds in becoming an official hearing dog. On one level, Okimoto's brisk and buoyant tale is a valuable lesson in the rewards of hard work and persistence; on another, it deals matter-of-factly with some of the hurdles facing the hearing-impaired, and introduces young readers to American Sign Language (the alphabet for which is detailed on the endpapers). Keith's droll illustrations blend fanciful and realistic touches to make the most of a sprightly four-footed heroine. Ages 4-up. (Apr.)