SEADOGS

H.M.S. Pinafore meets Treasure Island when Siegel puts his all-canine cast on stage for a rousing musical tale played out in cartoon panels. Wheeler supplies the lyrics: “Late one night they came aboard / They snuck aboard at sea, / The filthy, roving Mongrel Horde / Of Captain Jacques Fifi— / The Terrier of the Sea, oh! The Terrier of the Sea.” A brush with that mangy crew leaves a grizzled veteran sea dog and two younger pooches in possession of a treasure map, and the chase is on. Though a climactic dustup leaves the Mongrel Horde with the treasure chest, the old sea dog finds truer treasure in a stowaway puppy, and retires at last to shore; his mates clinch, and then the entire cast comes out to take its bow-wows from an enthusiastic audience. Chock full of visual jokes and wonderfully clever turns of phrase, this is a genuine howl from first scene to last. (Picture book. 7-10)