THEY CALL ME NO SAM!

A dog who sees the world through his own unique lens battles evil forces to protect his newfound family—and inadvertently succeeds.

In a “Dear Diary” format, Sam the pug relates his adventures over the course of 20 eventful days, during which he runs away from “naked-monkey-thing” owner Mike, ends up at the shelter, and gets adopted by the Peterson family, who have a 12-year-old son named Justin. Meanwhile, Sam is suspicious of Justin’s new friend, Phoebe, but perceives actual villains Drago and Grisha as his friends, even though they’re trying to steal the Peterson parents’ lab secrets. Many of Sam’s fears will be humorous to readers, such as the “deadly assassination robot” (the vacuum) and the Ghost Wolf (Sam’s own reflection in a sliding glass door). No matter how misguided and oblivious he is, Sam’s heart is in the right place, however, and he manages to protect his family. He’s also able to smell people’s emotions, knows when Justin is lonely, and tries to be a good companion. Readers will find plenty of humor—and a few gross-out moments, as when the Petersons’ cat makes “little snack treats” in his “magic sand oven.” The grayscale cartoon illustrations throughout are especially funny and often spotlight the difference between Sam’s worldview and reality. Most main characters read white; the bad guys are coded as Eastern Europeans who speak a language other than English.

Silly, swift, and a surefire success.