Steppin' Out: Dog in Boots by Greg Gormley

DOG WAS READING A BRILLIANT BOOK ABOUT A CAT WHO WORE A PAIR OF TRULY MAGNIFICENT BOOTS.

As any dedicated shopper could tell us, the right footwear can be a life-changing experience, and Dog just knows that he has to have some of those wonderful boots, too. He visits the local shoe salon and finds just the right pair to make his life perfect. Bow-WOW!

But when Dog needs to dig up his favorite bone, he realizes that he's got a problem: the boots are terrible for digging, and now, instead of being magnificent, they're just a muddy mess!

So it's back to the shoe shoppe to talk the storekeeper into a swap. This time dog opts for mud-proof rain boots, but although they wash off fine, they are not a bit of good for swimming. So it's back for a set of four flippers. They make him an Olympic prospect in the pool, but when he needs to scratch that pesky itch behind his ear, they are strictly a flop!

In short order Dog goes through spiked heels (great for scratching, not so great for running) and skis (snow not included with each purchase?). Isn't there any foot gear just right for everything Dog likes to do? He heads back to the store, this time to ask for something less fantastical and more practical:

SOMETHING THAT'S GOOD FOR DIGGING AND SWIMMING AND SCRATCHING AND RUNNING. OH, NICE AND FURRY, TOO!

Oh, yeah. There they are, right at the end of each of his legs. Paws! What a concept.

Greg Gormley's just published Dog in Boots (Holiday House, 2011) is a nice re-run of the old "back in your own backyard" theme, all dressed up in Roberto Anganamo's comic drawings of a perky pup who finally decides to leave fancy foot gear to fantasy felines in this upbeat spoof of shoe lust.