THE NINE LIVES OF DUDLEY DOG

Sister wanted a cat for her birthday but what she got was Dudley, the cat-obsessed dog. After Sister blows out her candles and makes a wish, Dudley escapes out a window and begins his pursuit of felines. On eight two-page spreads the dog escapes near death and skunks as various concerned citizens cry, “Do you think you have nine lives like a cat?” On the ninth spread, the dog has a run-in with some tigers and that (understandably) is the last you see of him. That night a cat wearing Dudley’s old collar leaps onto Sister’s bed because, we are told, “Sister’s birthday wish had come true.” Hassett’s madcap images play with hidden numbers (and equivalent cats) on each page, offering a heady amount of unbridled energy. The twist at the end, however, is less satisfying than it is downright head-scratching. One has to wonder if Sister’s birthday wish was for Dudley to become a cat, or simply for the unwanted dog to be eaten by a tiger. Inventive but faulty. (Picture book. 4-8)