Oh No, George!

George, the hero of this dog-behaving-badly story from Haughton (Little Owl Lost), hits the canine trifecta: oversize snout, floppy ears, and an anguished expression. His body is a polyhedron of warm red and fuchsia, and the house he shares with his troll-like owner, Harry, is similarly bathed in supersaturated hues. George vows to be good when Harry leaves, but he promptly encounters temptation ("It's cake! I said I'd be good, George thinks, but I love cake"). In a droll parody of an old-fashioned moral lesson, the narrator intones, "What will George do?" as George gazes out at readers with a familiar dog-in-headlights look. The suspense is broken when the page turns to a double spread of George chowing down, as the narrator cries, "Oh no, George!" The results of several errors of judgment greet Harry upon his return. A brief but impressive period of high-minded resolve during a walk is followed by the speedy return of the mush-willed George readers have already grown to love. Behind the dopey entertainment, though, there's a carefully disciplined visual and verbal economy--evidence of Haughton's substantial gifts. Ages 2-up. (Mar.)

PreS-Gr 2--George wants to be good-he really does-but some temptations are too hard to resist. The pup's first downfall is cake, then the cat, then dirt. Predictably, eating the cake, playing with the cat, and digging in the dirt don't impress Harry, his owner. George is contrite, and after Harry cleans up, they go out for a walk together, and he manages to pass up each of the previous temptations. In the end, though, readers are left to guess whether digging through an interesting-smelling garbage can will prove too big a temptation for the reformed canine. George's exploits are displayed on bright spreads while the repetitive text simply says, "Oh no, George!" leaving readers to infer from the picture what choice he made. Haughton's digitally rendered illustrations have a modern-retro feel, and creative kids will enjoy seeing that the conventional color rules are missing; George is a fuchsia, red, and mulberry delight, while Harry is olive-green with navy blue and aqua hair. Make room in your dog-themed storytimes for this crowd-pleaser.--Amy Commers, South St. Paul Public Library, MN

PreS-Gr 2—George wants to be good-he really does-but some temptations are too hard to resist. The pup's first downfall is cake, then the cat, then dirt. Predictably, eating the cake, playing with the cat, and digging in the dirt don't impress Harry, his owner. George is contrite, and after Harry cleans up, they go out for a walk together, and he manages to pass up each of the previous temptations. In the end, though, readers are left to guess whether digging through an interesting-smelling garbage can will prove too big a temptation for the reformed canine. George's exploits are displayed on bright spreads while the repetitive text simply says, "Oh no, George!" leaving readers to infer from the picture what choice he made. Haughton's digitally rendered illustrations have a modern-retro feel, and creative kids will enjoy seeing that the conventional color rules are missing; George is a fuchsia, red, and mulberry delight, while Harry is olive-green with navy blue and aqua hair. Make room in your dog-themed storytimes for this crowd-pleaser.—Amy Commers, South St. Paul Public Library, MN

George, the hero of this dog-behaving-badly story from Haughton (Little Owl Lost), hits the canine trifecta: oversize snout, floppy ears, and an anguished expression. His body is a polyhedron of warm red and fuchsia, and the house he shares with his troll-like owner, Harry, is similarly bathed in supersaturated hues. George vows to be good when Harry leaves, but he promptly encounters temptation ("It's cake! I said I'd be good, George thinks, but I love cake"). In a droll parody of an old-fashioned moral lesson, the narrator intones, "What will George do?" as George gazes out at readers with a familiar dog-in-headlights look. The suspense is broken when the page turns to a double spread of George chowing down, as the narrator cries, "Oh no, George!" The results of several errors of judgment greet Harry upon his return. A brief but impressive period of high-minded resolve during a walk is followed by the speedy return of the mush-willed George readers have already grown to love. Behind the dopey entertainment, though, there's a carefully disciplined visual and verbal economy—evidence of Haughton's substantial gifts. Ages 2-up. (Mar.)