Scout

PreS-Gr 1—In this picture-book debut, Scout the Scottie dog travels from floor to floor in his tall apartment building looking for his missing red ball. Along the way he meets a cat named Cleo, a goldfish named Frankie, and a hamster named Harvey, none of whom has seen the ball, but all of whom compare themselves favorably to Scout's description of it. They finally find it in the paws of Mac the Mouse, who has mistaken it for a cheese with red rind. The four new friends play with the ball and discover that it is all that Scout said it was. Although simply written, the text still seems overdone; it is the striking visuals that are the strength here. Large, boldly colored, graphic illustrations have a minimalist retro feel, with lots of open space, clear shapes, and clean edges. They convey plenty of action and emotion, and are sometimes downright funny. Even the text becomes part of the graphic, with a large clear font that changes from black to white depending on the color of the background, except for the red of the ball, which is of course red. Similar in theme to Chris Raschka's A Ball for Daisy (Random, 2011) and Lindsay Barrett George's Maggie's Ball (HarperCollins, 2010), Scout is graphically very different and textually weaker. Still, with its bold illustrations and visual charm, it might be worth a try.—Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library