Two adorable young African American twins, Ally and Mae, are looked after by an attentive pink-and-white poodle. Nanny Paws washes their faces ("Lick! Lick! Lick!), helps them get dressed, feeds them a healthy breakfast of cookies, clears the table after their breakfast ("Chomp, Slurp, Crunch!"), and walks them to school. While they are gone, she picks up toys (chewing delightedly), gardens (buries the stuffed teddy bear in a hole), and naps on top of a huge pile of laundry. Uh-oh! On Tuesday, the twins have a tummy ache! Nanny Paws is on the scene with helpful cures. She brings chewed-up toys, yowls a lullaby, and recommends chicken soup and saltines. The energetic poodle is constantly moving, and readers can follow her trail of gnawed socks as she concludes the day's supervision with reading, bath time, and the final nighttime snuggle. Colorful illustrations done digitally and with active detailed pencil and watercolor demonstrate the lively personalities of the characters. The Darling children's Nana is a calm and placid nursemaid compared to this exuberant, charming pooch.

Move over, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Good Dog, Carl: Nanny Paws knows exactly what to do for the kids in her care!Ally and Mae, elementary-age twins, need never worry about who will wash their faces, clear the table, or walk them to school. Nanny Paws has it all under control. But while the narrator tells the story from the perspective of this energetic pink poodle, the illustrations deliver quite another story. When Nanny Paws does "a little gardening," the illustration shows her digging a hole in the backyard to bury the twins' stuffed animal she has just destroyed. Nanny Paws says she keeps busy after taking the twins to school, but readers see her sprawled on her back, paws skyward (muddied from "gardening"), sound asleep on top of an enormous pile of laundry. In every instance, this pampered pooch has a hilariously overinflated sense of her helpfulness, and though the adults in the house, who never make an appearance, might mind her disasters, the twins clearly adore her and sleep every night with Nanny Paws between them. Wahman's watercolor, pencil, and digitally created images effectively capture Nanny Paws' perpetual motion and the twins' adoration of her despite the chaos she leaves in her wake. Ally and Mae have brown skin and wear their black hair in two puffballs.A delightful tale for dog lovers with less-than-perfect pooches. (Picture book. 3-6)

PreS-Gr 1 It's just a regular Tuesday at home with Nanny Paws, a lively pink poodle, and school-age twin girls, Ally and Mae. The narration exudes energy and helpfulness, explaining, "There's nothing [Nanny Paws] wouldn't do for her girls," and describes how the pooch spends the morning washing their faces, helping them get dressed, serving breakfast, clearing the table, and more. However, the loose, sketchy pencil-and-watercolor illustrations tell quite a different story. While the text describes how Nanny Paws cleans up the girls' toys and then does some gardening, the corresponding charming artwork shows the poodle ripping up stuffed animals and burying them in the backyard. When the girls come home from school early with tummy aches, Nanny Paws quickly warms their bellies (rolls across them) and sings soothing lullabies (in howls that cause the girls to cover their ears). The juxtaposition of the story line with the silly, inviting illustrations makes for a romping tale that amusingly illustrates home life with a good-hearted, but less-than-perfectly behaved dog. VERDICT An engaging picture book that will work well for storytime and one-on-one sharing. Children familiar with havoc-wreaking pooches will appreciate this playful tale most. Brianne Colombo, Fairfield Free Public Library, NJ