PreS-Gr 2—With effervescent colors; whimsical, cartoon-style characters; and an economy of words, this picture book tells the story of an energetic little dog who is incredibly excited about the really cool thing he just found: a stick! Unfortunately, the other animals seem less enthused. "Stick?" asks Puppy hopefully. "Grass!" responds the cow. "Stick?" he tries again to a bird. "Worm!" it responds. In typical good-dog manner, he doesn't let their dismissal get him down. He eventually meets a fellow canine friend who can appreciate his discovery. With only six different words and speech balloons that indicate which character is speaking, this title would work well for new and emerging readers. The bright and bold pencil and digitally colored illustrations are reminiscent of Bob Shea's I'm a Shark (HarperCollins, 2011) and Dinosaur vs. Bedtime (Disney, 2008). Young children will understand Puppy's excitement over a new toy and the joy of finding a friend who will play along.—Kiera Parrott, Darien Library, CT