Making a costume and dressing up can be lots of fun for a young child. In this charming picture book by new Montreal author Elaine Arsenault, however, it’s a young dog who makes the costumes and dresses up in them. Quebec illustrator Fanny must have had fun herself, getting to show a resourceful puppy dressing himself as a striped kitten, a tropical fish, a parrot, and a green lizard.

All these costuming efforts on Doggie’s part are designed to attract the attention of Mademoiselle Madeleine, a costume maker who passes the pet store window each day on her way to work, never noticing the puppy looking longingly at her. When he proves himself so adept at her own métier, however, she is obliged to take notice and respond. Springing an animal from a cage in the pet store always makes for an appealing plot, but Doggie’s unique methods for finding himself a home are bound to appeal to both small children and their parents.

Arsenault and Fanny prove to be well paired in this book, as the pictures both illustrate the text and add amusing details, such as the matching dog costumes in Mademoiselle Madeleine’s shop window at the end of the story. Mademoiselle and Doggie end up looking a lot like each other, as people and their dogs often do. The gentle fantasy and humour of the book create an Old World feel, with shops and their owners given elegant French names, and the whole story evokes a mercantile experience far from the realms of Wal-Mart and Costco.