Rocket Puppies

"People. Bugs. Birds. Forks. Spaghetti and meatballs. You name it. Sad was all over the place," writes Joyce (A Bean, a Stalk and a Boy Named Jack) at the start of this far-out and furry picture book. What's more, there's a single cause: Snarly McBummerpants, a grumpy figure whose hat puffs out the poo-shaped "Mopey Smoke" that's bringing everybody down. The world needs a cuteness infusion stat, and it arrives in the form of a quintet of preternaturally adorable pups, each wearing a hug-fueled rocket pack. "AWWWWWWWWW!" sigh the world's residents. The puppies and their powers are such effective mood-elevators that "they could even make everyone love sharing the last piece of pizza!" But though the pups easily dispatch the Mopey Smokes, Snarly McBummerpants prompts the puppies to bring out their secret weapon: a palm-size canine called Tiny Brad. Following a duel on the Island of Woe, Tiny Brad deploys a single nose-lick that transforms the situation. With his signature retro flair and his tongue firmly in cheek, Joyce has crafted a parable for our times, whose optimistic silliness should prove as potent a pick-me-up as a puppy's nose-lick. Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4--8. (Nov.)