Pawcasso by Remy Lai (review)

Jo is enduring a lonely summer, so when a boring Saturday is interrupted by the sight of a dog walking into town carrying a basket, she simply has to follow him. She discovers that every week this peaches-and-cream mutt travels solo from shop to shop with a list and money in his basket, snagging treats and pats while picking up essentials for his family. But where does this cute and clever pup live? And how did he learn to shop on his own? Jo’s sleuthing quickly draws the attention of other locals, who assume that the canine she’s trailing is her own. It turns out there are advantages to being the owner of the coolest dog in town, whom she’s dubbed “Pawcasso, ” and Jo suddenly finds herself surrounded by friends, fans, and free ice cream. She knows lying is wrong, but she can keep it up for just a couple more weeks before the neighborhood grouch reports leashless Pawcasso to the city council and Pawcasso’s real family finds out, right? Author/illustrator Lai’s (Fly on the Wall, BCCB 9/20) newest graphic novel takes the well-known trope of a snowballing lie and adds dashes of art history and neighborhood mystery to keep it fresh. Overall-clad Jo is shy and hungry for friendship, her frustrations over family leading her to moral compromises she wouldn’t normally make. Titular Pawcasso is all fluff and sass, sweet-tempered enough to sit as model for a kids’ art class and mischievous enough to repeatedly roll in poop (and right after a bath). It’s no wonder why the ire of grumpy Mr. Iccc over Pawcasso’s unsupervised wandering draws so much attention, leading to a town-wide petition for Pawcasso’s freedom and a schism between the pup-supporting Picassos and the law-abiding Duchamps. Readers will delight in the ups and downs of Jo’s journey and fall for both her and her canine pal.