CAN I BE YOUR DOG?

A large, lonely dog named Arfy writes letters to residents of Butternut Street asking to be adopted so he won’t have to continue living in a cardboard carton in an alley.

Arfy introduces his story in a winning way on the cover by holding out an envelope with the title words in bold, hand-lettered print. The talented dog is shown holding a pencil in his mouth to write his first letter, which is delivered by a brown-skinned, female mail carrier with straight black hair. Arfy writes to each house or business on his street, but everyone turns the dog down for a different reason. Both the letters and responses are creatively composed in varying styles of lettering, from hand printing to typeface, and with humorous approaches, such as a form letter from the fire department saying “the position of: FIRE DOG has already been filled.” The same mail carrier delivers each letter, looking increasingly worried about Arfy, and in a satisfying and surprising conclusion, she writes her own letter to Arfy offering to “be your person.” The final endpapers show a map version of Butternut Street and the post office, with Arfy helping the mail carrier with her delivery route. A large format and bold, exuberant illustrations are well-matched with Arfy’s enthusiastic personality and can-do attitude. The letter format makes this a fine choice for early-elementary students learning to compose letters.

Persuasive writing by a persistently pleasing pooch.