BENNY

A case of the sniffles flummoxes a happy-go-lucky pooch when he wants to retrieve a buried bone in this caper from a Dutch author/artist. Benny soon discovers he can't smell much of anything, not "the leathery old boots, the musty box... the wonderful, filthy dog poop, or the fresh, tart apples." A double spread of vignettes shows the baffled Benny as he sniffs each of the items, displaying a histrionic range worthy of Susan Meddaugh's Martha. Despite Benny's clear sense of woe, Posthuma's bright watercolors offer continuous cheer, as in a painting of a brilliant red flower patch that creates a sunny tone even while Benny's doleful face stares out from the field he can't smell. A trip to the bespectacled hound doctor (who has the comical upright gait given all adult dogs in the story) yields a scene of Benny hooked up to the Sniff Machine—an almost Seussian contraption. Yards of gray piping twist and coil across the book's gutter, with one end over a prone Benny's snout and the other hovering above a large bone. After two days in bed, a recovered Benny reveals his most treasured smell in a cozy ending. A heartwarming comedy for the cold season. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)