cover image THE DOG FROM ARF! ARF! TO ZZZZZZ

THE DOG FROM ARF! ARF! TO ZZZZZZ

The Dog Artlist Collection, . . HarperCollins, $14.99 (40pp) ISBN 978-0-06-059857-0

Purebred puppies and miniature dogs, gazing at the camera with adoring, dewy eyes and sniffing with big moist noses, appear in this high-end, greeting card–cute photographic ABC. Most of the snapshots are taken in the comical snout-in-the- camera mode, so that the dogs' heads appear enormous and their bodies look stuffed- animal tiny. A fuzzy young beagle softly gums a rawhide chew toy for the letter F, "Fetch!" and a black pug licks its nose with a pink tongue for the letter M ("Mmmmmm"). Occasionally, the photographers exchange the facial close-up for an aft shot. A wiry-haired dachshund—whose body looks hyperextended given the extreme perspective—models for the letter T, "Tail," and a silky King Charles spaniel waves a greeting on the W page ("Wag, wag, wag"). According to the text, these images were taken by multiple artists for the Dog Artlist Collection and became a postcard series in Japan, but the consistency of the shots and the symmetry of the pages suggest a strict, uniform approach. The editors allot one letter and one dog to each page, and place every image within a pure-white, empty background, à la DK's informational books. An index names the dog breed representing each letter (not a mutt in the mix). While the ebullient animals exude energy, this tidy alphabet seems designed for maximum visual impact at the expense of draining them of animation. All ages. (Apr.)