McDuff Saves the Day (new design) (McDuff Stories)

Fourth of July fun! When hungry ants eat up his family's Fourth of July picnic, McDuff puts his nose to the ground and uncovers a reward even better than meatballs!

On a Fourth of July picnic with his human family, McDuff, a beloved but trouble-mongering white terrier, inadvertently allows "silent invaders" (namely, ants) to make off with the entire contents of the lunch basket. Luckily, McDuff has a way with strangers (and their picnic baskets), and in no time flat, he's finagled an invitation from a lonely older man to share his meal with the family.

Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers's series about the earnest pooch and his expanding community of friends and family harkens back to quainter days, when baby carriers were buckled into cars with leather straps and kind gentlemen didn't mind sharing their fried chicken and devil's food cake with strangers. Jeffers's inviting paintings of 1930s cars and fashions, and of course the little white dog himself, are warm and appealing. Readers who loved McDuff Goes to School and McDuff's New Friend will enjoy this summery entry in the series. (Ages 3 to 5) --Emilie Coulter