I'LL BE YOUR DOG

Ten dogs prepare themselves for their forever homes while waiting at a shelter.

Reg the Retriever wants his canine friends to get ready for a big day. It could be time for any one of them, from Grace the Greyhound to Bruce the Boxer, to get adopted from the shelter where they’ve all found themselves. Reg, however, has been at the shelter long enough to see his friends come and go. Will this be the day he finds a family, too? (Spoiler: It wouldn’t be much of an ending if he didn’t.) Reg and his nine pals each get a page or two in the spotlight, their fates revealed in rhyming couplets (“Meet this tiny snuffly chap / Who will snooze in your lap. / Settle in, nap time’s begun, / Peter the Pug is the one!”). Not all the text lands so lyrically (“All worries will shrink down to none. / Matt the Maltese is the one!”), but the sentiment is sweet throughout, and the dogs are each illustrated with their distinct physical characteristics and personality, which are restated after the story with a roundup of what traits each breed is known for. The huge, adorable “adopt-me” eyes may be a little exaggerated, but the moment Reg is chosen still lands with its intended emotional heft, as does a concluding two-page spread of all the rescue dogs with their new families, a racially diverse group of humans. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A gentle, well-paced reminder that shelter dogs need humans to love and care for them.