Move Over, Big Dog!: SheezuCacaPoopoo 2: Max Goes to the Dogs by Joy Behar

Everybody loves an underdog, and at Doggy Day Care, Max, the shihtzu/cocker/poodle-mix puppy, finds himself definitely low dog on the totem pole when he spends his first day at school being pushed around by the Big Dog on Campus, Brutus, and his burly buddies. Although his owner Evie is sympathetic with his plight, her mom is adamant that Max is too much of a mess maker to stay home alone, and Max finally realizes that he has to take matter into his own petite paws!

But when he meets up with a dog even smaller than he is, a timid little Chihua-poo, inexplicably named "Macho," who spends his day cowering under a table, Max realizes that it's got to be brains against brawn here. Forming a union of the little dogs, Max comes up with a game plan and a set of signals to bamboozle and outmaneuver the gangsta big dogs in order to get their rightful turn at the food bowls and sunny napping spots. Scooting under and around the big dogs, the little dogs achieve some of their objectives, but Max realizes that his campaign won't succeed unless the miniatures gain the respect of the big guys for good and all:

"Now see here, big guy," Max barked, trembling just a little. "I speak for my brothers and sisters when I say we may be closer to the ground that your are, but that doesn't mean you can walk all over us."

Brutus growled in reply. He was a dog of few words. Max though quickly. "You know, I bet we could even be useful to you if you give us a chance."

"What do you mean?" the big dog snarled.

"There are some advantages to our size," said Max. "We could make this work for you."

Max goes on to point out the advantages of small size--retrieving chewy toys from under low furniture and scratching itches that the big guy can't quite reach, Brutus begins to get the drift.

"I guess you're worth having around after all, little guy," he admits, and Doggy Day Care is on its way to being safe for the small and the tall there each day.

TV celebrity Joy Behar does a workmanlike job in this sequel to her popular first Max tale, Sheetzucacapoopoo: My Kind of Dog Sheetzucacapoopoo 2: Max Goes to the Dogs, with its comical canine caricatures, easy, breezy style, and positive message about dealing with classroom bullies which kids will subliminally understand, establishes Max the spunky Sheetzucacapoopoo as a diminutive dog to be reckoned with.