BERTIE WAS A WATCHDOG

Brains overcome brawn once again in this laugh-out-loud encounter between a huge, leering burglar and a minuscule canine guardian. Bertie’s ferocious grimace and spiked collar fill the first two spreads, but, as the third reveals, he’s called a “watch dog” because he’s actually about the size of a Rolex. Nonetheless, when the hulking second-story man breaks in, Bertie attacks. Laughing, the intruder shows that he can run faster, bite harder, and, with Bertie egging him on, bark louder—loudly enough, in fact, to bring the police. Robins (The Thank You Book, not reviewed, etc.) catches the encounter in loosely drawn cartoon close-ups of a scruffy, page-filling robber and his annoyed-looking mini-nemesis. Surrounded by the ribbon of his shiny new “HERO” medal, Bertie gets the last laugh, crowing, “ ‘I win!’ ” Young readers will enthusiastically agree. (Picture book. 5-7)