Buster & Phoebe: The Great Bone Game
Grade 1-4-The author/illustrator of Buster: The Very Shy Dog (Houghton, 1999) exhibits her winning humor in this beginning chapter book. Buster, a black-coated puppy, has recently moved into Roger's house. Curly-eared Phoebe maintains her "first dog" status by taking advantage of the younger pooch's gullible nature and finding a way to make her pile of chewing bones grow as his diminishes. In the second chapter, a full-grown Buster finally manages to beat Phoebe at her own game. In the third story, Buster's loyalty and credulity keep Phoebe from trouble with fierce "Grrrrregorrrrry" when she tries to steal his bone. The three short installments make the adventures easy to digest for newcomers to the chapter-book realm. The comic watercolor-and-ink drawings tell a story of their own, with expressions and poses that are guaranteed to entertain.Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.