(Preschool) When Daisy, Arthur's elderly dog, dies and goes to heaven, she observes the boy grieving for her and sends dreams to show him how happy she is in heaven. He still misses her, though, so when the time is right she sends him a dream of a new puppy. Arthur does get one--a puppy that looks just like the one in his dream--and he names her Maisy, ""after Daisy."" The emotional content of this gentle story is just right for preschoolers, as is the tone--comforting and uplifting but not in the least saccharine. The minimal, matter-of-fact text is enriched and extended by hand-lettered speech balloons in the pictures--soft, cheerful pastels typical of much of Clark's work (I Love You, Blue Kangaroo!; No More Kissing!). (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Daisy is an old, old dog, and she can't keep up with her boy Arthur, though she loves him. One morning she awakens in heaven, which is quite pleasant. She feels young again and has playmates, but Arthur is sad. Her new friends tell her to send him dreams. She first lets him know where she is and that she likes it. He cheers up a little, but it takes her sending him a dream of a puppy for him to assent to his parents' wish that he accept a new canine friend. Daisy can now relax, but she never stops looking out for Arthur and his new dog. Clark takes a break from Blue Kangaroo to lend her bright, pleasant watercolors to this reassuring story. Arthur is allowed his sadness, and his eventual happiness obviously doesn't lessen his love for Daisy or hers for him. A non-denominational look at heaven and the afterlife that will be a comfort to many youngsters: the best dead pet story yet. (Picture book. 2-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

PreS. There's nothing religious in the view of heaven in this picture book about the loss of a beloved pet. Clark has simply created a joyful fantasy with an honest treatment of grief and comfort. Daisy, Arthur's dog, is devoted to him, but she can't keep up with him anymore. After she dies, she wakes up in dog heaven, a place she loves. The bright lively pictures show an idyllic place in the sky with sunshine and flower-filled green meadows, where Daisy runs with lots of old and new dog friends or curls up in a cozy armchair. Arthur doesn't know that Daisy is happy. He misses her and doesn't want another dog. But Daisy is watching over him, and she sends him dreams about her beautiful dog heaven and suggests that he get another puppy. The countryside Arthur sees when he drives with his parents to choose his new pet looks a lot like Daisy's heaven. Because Clark never denies the child's sorrow and loss, the hopeful, loving scenes will help preschoolers move on. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2004 Booklist

Clark (I Love You, Blue Kangaroo!) strikes just the right note in this soothing book about a boy and his beloved old dog, who one night goes to sleep and wakes up in Heaven. There Daisy-who can once again run fast-finds flower-filled gardens and "lots of new and old friends." Looking down from the sky at her sad young master, distressed Daisy asks her canine pals for advice, and they respond, "Send him dreams." When Daisy shows the sleeping boy how she frolics with her friends in Heaven, he cheers up somewhat, but Daisy "could see he was missing her." The other dogs then instruct her to "Give him a new puppy dream.... Show you don't mind." In the tale's most affecting picture, Arthur smiles in his sleep as his dream reveals Daisy descending upon his bed, carrying a puppy in her mouth. Arthur cheerfully accepts a previously rejected offer to get another dog and drives with his parents "out into the countryside, where the new puppies were." The lad chooses a tiny pooch (identical to the one in his dream) and announces, "I'm going to call her Maisy, after Daisy." Readers wary of replacing a lost pet may be further comforted by the finale: now Daisy can "really enjoy herself" in Heaven-yet still keep an eye on Arthur and Maisy. An uplifting tale for any animal lover. Ages 2-5. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

PreS-Gr 2-A sweet story about the death of a beloved pet, this is bibliotherapy at its best. Daisy, a dog, and Arthur, a boy, are inseparable until the day the canine lies down in her basket never to rise again. Although she arrives in a lovely doggy nirvana, Daisy can't fully enjoy her newfound paradise because she is able to look down on her former home and see her family grieving. On the advice of fellow dogs in heaven, she sends the child dreams that both reassure him about her benign fate and encourage him to move forward by acquiring a new puppy. Clark's simple text and characteristically child-friendly illustrations make this book useful for sharing with even the youngest children. Recommend it along with Cynthia Rylant's Dog Heaven (Scholastic, 1995) to anyone seeking comfort when dealing with issues of grief and loss.-Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.