Flip's Fantastic Journal

This far-from-fantastic mock journal is a transparent--and unconvincing--effort to persuade kids that writing is fun. Hand-lettered on lined pages with cartoons that imitate a child's style, the book presents itself as the journal that Flip's teacher assigns him to keep. The first half represents the ho-hum life Flip (an anthropomorphized dog) leads (e.g., his sister wakes him up on Saturday morning when he tries to sleep in, his friend has to baby-sit and can't play, etc.); in the second half, he decides to make up stories instead of dutifully recording his day, and the cartoons turn from black-and-white to color. Unfortunately, his make-believe day is a predictable hodge-podge of wish fulfillment: he can run faster than his sister; he finds ""a zillion dollars"" and uses it to buy ""candy, pizza and soda pop."" DeCesare (Anthony the Perfect Monster) has a few amusing lines, as when the newly inspired Flip vows, ""I will use my imagination. I will use my brain. I will use my sister's markers."" But most readers will find Flip's life pretty trite and question whether his teacher would really say his journal is ""great."" Ages 6-9. (Aug.)