Sam and Spot: A Silly Story

``One sunny Saturday, Sam and Spot strolled in the square. Sam and Spot stopped-Sam to sit and snooze, and Spot to sniff and snoop.'' Got the picture? This alliterative volume about a man and his dog celebrates the letter S-and its tongue-twisters are only half the fun. Sam, calling for Spot in the park, is amazed when seven similar Spots promptly report, and Sam must figure out which pet is his own. O'Brien abandons the earth tones of his Tyrannosaurus Tex for pointillistic speckles in rainbow hues; his highlights of marigold yellow-and-orange, ruby red and emerald green seem to vibrate on the page, complementing the playful narrative. He carries his sibilant theme into the imagery, too: trees with curling trunks, delicate park benches on curved legs and Spot's loop-the-loop tail encourage readers to notice the S-shape even as they're guessing which dog is which. The surreal landscape and oddball characters-Sam wears a bowler and iris-purple trousers, Spot a sapphire-blue sombrero and shoes and socks-amplify the whimsical weirdness with a peculiar Victorian-like charm. Suffice it to say, simply super. Ages 3-up. (Sept.)