Mush, a Dog From Space

From School Library Journal Grade 2-3?A delightful, easy chapter book that is refreshing in its gentle resolution of loneliness through absurdity. One day on a walk in the woods, Kelly, who has just moved into a brand-new development, meets Mush, an articulate, telepathic, tidy dog. Mush turns out to be quite the gourmet cook, too, and becomes Kelly's friend as well as an acceptable guardian for her in her parents' eyes. Pinkwater postpones the answer to Kelly's oft-asked question about Mush's interstellar origins for a potential sequel, although readers can readily supply their own explanations...and probably won't hesitate to write the author with suggestions. The conversation is a tad formal at times?well-educated dogs speak in complete sentences?and Pinkwater's deadpan humor is charming (at one point Mush tries to act like a dog and says "woof," forgetting to actually bark). The pen-and-ink and marker illustrations?one or two per chapter?colorfully complement the text.?John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TXCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. From