The Secret Life of the Dog! Here, George! by Sandra Boynton

George is a big wrinkly white dog who's logged a few dog years. His family adores him, but he's not exactly energetic.

HE LIKES TO SIT.

When the family gets ready for an outing, they call good old George to join them.

George sits. They try to coax him into a car ride. He just sits. They tell him he's a good boy. He still sits.

"GEORGE MUST BE TIRED," THEY AGREE.

Poor old George. The family bids him goodbye and heads off for the car, leaving George behind, still sitting.

But somewhere somebody is playing music. George raises his half-closed eyelids, his ears perk up, and he gets up from his sitting place.

And George begins to dance. Dance, Dance, Dance! His moves are AMAZING. He's sheer poetry in motion.

UNTIL HE CAN DANCE NO MORE.

Tired but happy, George goes back to his second-favorite thing: SITTING.

Best-selling preschool creator Sandra Boynton is in top form in her latest board book, Here, George! (Little Simon, 2018). Illustration and carefully controlled storytelling combine comedy and irony with a different style of comic art provided by illustrator George Booth. Boynton's skillfully paced narration melds with the artwork in perfectly timed page turns, with Booth's angular George, done in black-line ink drawings set against various full-bleed color pages, always front and center. In George, the noted author has created quite a memorable character, with comic possibilities in a secret life that kids will want to see much more of. Bravo, Boynton!