STAY!

Through a delightfully funny and distinctive first-person narration, Lowry (See You Around, Sam!, 1996, etc.) introduces a lovable new canine, given cuddly characterization in Kelley's black-and-white illustrations. Keeper tells his own story, from his "sordid" beginnings as a puppy begging for scraps behind a French restaurant, to his turn as a homeless man's companion, to his rise as a sneering fashion model, to his current role as a child's pet. Keeper is an intelligent, observant narrator, full of hilarious commentary on human behavior and with a penchant for poetry. Lowry's hero and his picaresque story are laugh-out-loud funny, and occasionally heartbreaking. Readers will be relieved to know, however, that this dog's life has a happy ending. (Fiction. 8-10)