Margaret Graham's deft rendering of Harry's features -- ears, eyes, tail, and posture -- eloquently convey Harry's dejection and shame when he finds himself mocked by his canine peers. Likewise, as his family searches fruitlessly for the missing sweater, Harry assumes a look of combined innocence and craftiness.

Children getting into the peer-group and fashion-consciousness mode of preschool and first grade readily respond to this story, which safely and humorously displaces some of their concerns onto Harry the dog. The old-fashioned style of the book (first published in 1958) doesn't seem to be a problem, and, for many grown-up readers, it's a bonus. Nostalgia-prone adults will love Graham's small town, where people dress up to go shopping and every little store has its resident pet.