cover image Happy Birthday, Moe Dog

Happy Birthday, Moe Dog

Nicholas Heller. Greenwillow Books, $12.95 (24pp) ISBN 978-0-688-07670-2

Moe Dog's birthday is literally a happy one. He wakes up in the morning to be greeted by a friendly H near his bed and a flying orange A outside his window. Other colorful characters participate in the day's celebrationthe two P's cook and B runs a bubble bath, while another A and a Y carry in the cake. All the letters gather 'roundin orderto dance and play for the occasion. An emphasis on patterns here is skillfully spelled out as a contrast to the simple line forms of the letters. Heller's kaleidoscopic color variations are sure to attract and snare even the most ambivalent reader. Ages 5-up. (April)