Grumpy Mr. Raisin gets a surprise in a basket on his doorstep…a floating dog. Taking care of a floating dog is a lot of trouble, Mr. Raisin thinks, at first. Large print, colorful pictures with thick, black outlines. Good read aloud. ( )

Grumpy old Mr. Raisin, who liked to sew, but didn't like anything else, finds a basket containing a floating dog on his doorstep one day. Reluctantly taking the pooch in, since otherwise he'd float away, Mr. Raisin slowly grows to care for his new canine companion. But when his leash breaks one day, and Floaty floats away, is it the end of this new friendship...? Not if Mr. Raisin has anything to do with it!

By turns amusing and poignant, author/artist John Himmelman's Floaty is a picture-book examination of the themes of loneliness, finding friendship, and learning just how worthwhile our animal companions are - how worth the 'trouble' they involve us in. The narrative is humorous - I got a chuckle out of Mr. Raisin's continual exclamations of "Blah!" - and the artwork colorful and entertaining. The sense of humor here reminded me a bit of Jon Agee's picture-books, which is high praise. Recommended to anyone looking for quirky, amusing picture-books, or children's stories about people and their dog friends. ( )