BECAUSE OF SHOE

Nine brief, sometimes pithy short stories explore children’s interactions with man’s (and kids’) best friend.

Martin has gathered together a set of engaging tales by well-known children's authors, each averaging just under 30 pages of text and accompanied by a few attractive black-and-white illustrations. Tyler, with the help of Max, his good-natured “weiner dog,” finds and defeats a dognapper. An 11-year-old girl explains to a judge in humorously round-about fashion how her shoe-stealing dog has caused her to appear in the courtroom. A very competitive but nerdy boy accidentally turns himself into a dog when trying to accomplish too much with a science-fair project. An impoverished boy attending a fancy school on scholarship loses his dog, and eventually that leads to a welcome bonding experience with his classmates. A young figure skater has to protect her chicken-stealing dog from the farmer next door. The best of the group is the one by the editor; 12-year-old Delilah, left home alone, accidentally loses her dog Picasso and singlehandedly launches a neighborhood search. Her first-person narration is often hilarious, creating a memorable character readers will wish to spend more time with.

These amusing tales, all of them strong and distinct, total up to a nice, easily accessible package that will be a hit with dog lovers.