Naughty Mabel

Parents need to know that Naughty Mabel, cowritten by actor Nathan Lane and Devlin Elliott and illustrated by Dan Krall, has Lane's comic stamp, and one can almost hear his voice in the narration. Mabel is a pup, owned by a couple with a lavish Hamptons mansion, and by Mabel's own admission, she's not naughty, she's "VERY NAUGHTY!" Life as a pampered pup is good, but the real fun comes when her owners throw a fancy party. When she's put to bed early, Mabel slips down the staircase in her pink party dress and proceeds to wreak havoc, grabbing pigs-in-blankets from the catering tray, leading her owners on a wet-and-wild chase through the pool, and clearing the party with a stomach-rumbling, toxic-smelling fart. There's a reference to the dog licking herself ("Do you mind, darlings? This is private") and an odd, old reference to the French not liking to bathe, but kids -- even buttoned-up, well-behaved kids -- can misbehave vicariously through all the silly naughtiness.