AGERANGE: Ages 4 to 9.

On the front endpapers Mr. Mutt, Canine Counselor, advertises his help with "people problems." The book is a series of letters requesting advice from dogs with problems, followed by Mr. Mutt's helpful replies, complete with sketches and diagrams. After each pair of letters comes a note from the Queen of Cats, commenting on the disparagement of cats that ends each of Mr. Mutt's notes. After several exchanges, Queen cat gets annoyed enough to "take control." The hilarious, wordless, three-page climax when the Queen takes over is followed by the arrival of one hundred and one dogs on a "rescue mission" for Mr. Mutt. The Queen moves on to advertising her own advice, while Mr. Mutt is "back in business." It is only at the end that we discover that the Queen was living in the same house as Mr. Mutt. The sixteen appealing pups staring at us on the title page win our sympathy from the beginning. Obviously Stevens is a dog lover who depicts them with affection. Mixed media is sensitively employed in some of the scenes that support the clever anecdotes in imaginative ways, while pages of delicate sepia drawings add bits of information. There is both action and fun throughout. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Every dog has its rough day now and then, which in this high-energy picture book calls for a letter to Mr. Mutt, Canine Counselor. Whether addressing a dog put on a diet by his people, or a pooch who's scolded for barking too much, Mr. Mutt offers a written note of nuts-and-bolts advice (to the hungry dog, he recommends searching the trash, etc.) and anti-cat commentary. His snooty, tiara-wearing cat companion, The Queen, takes issue with his "catty remarks," writing rebuttals on pink stationery. Similar to Mark Teague's Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience Schoolin both theme and epistolary format, this sister act's (The Great Fuzz Frenzy) effort lacks LaRue's narrative flow and clever situational humor. Stevens's mixed-media scenes of the pets' ultimate altercation contain the most fun: The Queen demonstrates her prowess with a digitally manipulated ball of yarn as she, taking umbrage at a feline insult, keeps her canine cohort too "tied up" to help his correspondents out of the doghouse. Ages 3-7. (Apr.)

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