Spencer and his family are expecting a visit from Great-Aunt Alice and her dog, Susan. All Spencer knows is that she's dignified and graceful, with long, beautiful hair ? the dog, that is. Spencer and his own pup, Barney, are excited to have another dog to play with and decide to give her a chance. But it soon becomes clear that Susan is no regular dog. She eats cake off a china plate, takes scheduled naps, and needs an umbrella held over her in the rain. Spencer and Barney decide to teach Susan how to be a real dog. With Barney as a role model, they take her to the off-leash dog park to develop skills like barking at buses, cyclists and squirrels, eating garbage, resisting grooming, and refusing to come when she's called. Susan returns from the park covered in burrs, having shed her dignity and grace enough to fully embrace her inner dog. Mixed-media illustrations support the humorous text in this story about embracing who you are. AGES: 4-7 AUTHOR: Maureen Fergus is a very successful YA novelist, having written 'Exploits of a Reluctant (but Extremely Goodlooking) Hero', 'Recipe for Disaster and Ortega', as well as The Gypsy King trilogy. She's also written two picture books: 'The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarte'n and, of course, 'And What if I Won't'? (the latter with Owlkids). ILLUSTRATOR: Drawn to illustration by her passion for children's books, Monica Arnolda is a graduate of Sheridan College's Illustration program. She combines a variety of media, including watercolour, pencil crayon, acrylic, and graphite, to create images full of character.
