Where Is Rusty?

Dutch artist Posthuma (A Pond Full of Ink) offers a genial, fast-moving mystery as a curious pup named Rusty, distracted by one of those ubiquitous kitchen-gadget demonstrations, gets separated from his mother and his friends in a department store. Two evil-looking watchdogs threaten to catch any stray pups they find and “lock them in the pound,” and readers follow Rusty’s odyssey through obscure corners of the multi-floored store, enjoying the canine embellishments along the way: dog-bone chandeliers, dog mannequins, and stunning dog couture. Posthuma keeps the action galloping along while never losing his sense of cheer as Rusty eludes his pursuers. “They look among the soft toys in the toy department. Where’s Rusty?” Fortunately, finding Rusty is easy for readers—there’s always a spotlight on him. The second time around, children will enjoy the artist’s elaborately developed alternate world, complete with towering wiglike coiffures, suits that allow for protruding dog tails, and Rube-Goldberg-style contraptions like the store’s complex plumbing network and a machine with a distillation apparatus that makes—of course—dog bones. This is a tale worth chewing on. Ages 3–up. (Apr.)