IF YOU COULD ASK YOUR DOG ONE QUESTION…

A girl ponders the perfect question to ask her dog in this rhyming picture book.

First engaging the audience with the title question, the young narrator of this story explains: “I often wonder what I would ask / if my dog could answer me.” On each spread, illustrations show the pair’s adventures, accompanied by the girl’s musings on her dog’s opinion of events. What is the reason her canine collects sticks when they play outside? Does the animal’s fur coat get too warm? Would the dog rather go for a short walk or a long drive? While many of the questions seem like universal canine owner ponderings, others are more existential—such as whether the pooch has a sense of time. Finally, the girl decides on a question about the love she and her dog share. Though the pet can’t speak, readers will be left with the impression that she’s gotten her answer to that very important question. Messina skillfully captures both the voice of a dog owner and the perspective of a child in her phrasing, accessible vocabulary, and the types of questions the girl asks. Pavliuk’s mixed-media illustrations offer clear linework in cartoonish images with rich watercolor hues. The unnamed canine is expressive, both in calm moments and frantic ones, and the love between the light-skinned girl and her pet is evident on each spread.

Dog lovers will enjoy this imaginative exploration of a canine’s perspective.