POLE DOG

``Old dog, old dog,/ Left by the telephone pole dog/ They're coming back for their old dog''—but, as is often the case, they're not. Seymour's brief text has an urgent cadence connoting the dog's anxiety and hope; his repetitive phrases, varied with the dog's experiences of hunger, fear (he's shot at), and cold, reflect ``Pole Dog's'' increasing dejection. Point made, there's a happy ending suitable for a young audience: a new family adopts this dog—but an appended note on what's more likely to happen to such animals urges children to call an animal shelter if they see an abandoned pet. Soman (Tell Me a Story, Mama, 1989) provides lovely double-spread art, rendered in pastels, evoking the scenic but desolate site at different times of day and the abandoned animal with equal skill. Poignantly telling. (Picture book. 4-8)