Stick Dog Gets the Tacos by Tom Watson
Published by HarperCollins on February 5th 2019
ISBN: 006268518X
Pages: 224
Goodreads

Stick Dog and his group of literal minded canines are searching for food again in this ninth episode of the series for readers in grades 3-5.  Karen is her usual distracted, short-legged self and comes to tell Stick Dog, over the course of two chapters, that she saw some humans hitting a dog.  While investigating, Stick Dog uncovers that the animal is a piñata, the birdies being hit are from badminton and green goopy stuff is guacamole.  Although Stick Dog knows that guacamole isn’t made from green birds, he doesn’t correct the other dogs, just keeps them focused on getting food while the human family involved is not looking.  The dogs decide guacamole tastes good. After Poo-poo the culinary expert in his own eyes educates the group on textures vs flavors, Stick Dog shows them how to flip a chip with the dip into their mouths and then they are set to try the tacos and enjoy the piñata contents.  The layout is the same as the others in the series.  Large font presented on lined paper with 5-6 page chapters and Watson’s line drawings liberally placed to increase the humor value.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Springvale Public Library