WOOF

Weeks offers up a charming and humorous story about the love of a dog—for a cat. As in many love stories, matters do not go as smoothly as the would-be lover might wish. When the two speak in their native vernaculars of “woof” and “meow,” only misunderstanding ensues. Fortunately, using his dog talents for sniffing buried treasure, the pooch finds a common language in music with the help of a shiny golden bone he digs up from under the ground. It is a special musical ’bone—a trombone—and he plays a love song to the sweet, bemused kitty. Music hath charms, and all’s well in a book filled with wordplay. Much is revealed in Berry’s lively, colorful and often hilarious collages that accompany the rhyming text. The beagle-y–looking dog and delicate white cat appear against photocollaged backgrounds that include fabrics, flowers and lots of shiny doodads preschoolers will delight in spotting. A book of wit and tenderness that is absolutely “Best in Show.” (Picture book. 4-8)