Bogart and Vinnie: A Completely Made-Up Story of True Friendship

Gr 1–3—Vinnie, a friendly but hyperactive mutt, is lost. While following Hap, a Wildlands Preserve worker, the dog bolts into the park when he spies the gate to the preserve. Vinnie is excited about the many new friends he can make: giraffes, zebras, leopards, parrots. Each creature is his best friend until he meets the next one. Way in the back, all alone in the peace and quiet of the rhino range, is Bogart, and Vinnie is quite taken with him. "I love you! I'm Vinnie! Hi!" he says, tail wagging and tongue lagging. Hap knows that Vinnie could be in danger, but he cannot lure the pup from Bogart's side. As a matter of fact, Vinnie discovers that it's great fun to play follow the leader, and he tails Bogart everywhere. Meanwhile, Vinnie's boy, Ethan, is looking high and low for his pet. Then Vinnie and Bogart are featured on the news. Before long, boy and dog are reunited, but nobody wants to split up Vinnie's new family of animal friends. They all move to Ethan's house, where they live together "in peace and harmony….Except the neighbors." The cartoon illustrations are done in acrylics, colored pencil, and ink. Vinnie is goofy-looking and appealing, but this is a rather slight story that will be more suitable as a supplemental purchase.—Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA