I have a new favorite children's book! A Small Brown Dog with a Wet Pink Nose by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, illustrated by Linzie Hunter is utterly adorable. Amelia has her heart set on getting a dog. Not just any dog, but a small brown dog with a wet pink nose, of course. She asks her parents every day if she can have a dog and every day they tell her no. Instead of losing heart, Amelia devises a scheme to get the dog of her dreams. She begins asking her parents hypothetical questions:

Her parents always answer in the affirmative and hypothetically speaking, are quite supportive getting a dog.

One morning Amelia wakes up and an imaginary small brown dog with a wet pink nose has taken up residence in their home. Her parents, a little befuddled at first, quickly play along with Amelia and her imaginary dog, even when the imaginary dog goes missing! I won't ruin the ending for you, but needless to say, Amelia is successful in getting her dog and the final pages assure the reader that this has been her plan all along. 

Hunter's illustrations are amazing and my kids spent a great deal of time pouring over each page so as not to miss any of the tiny details. Excellent! 

I have read this to my children many, many times over the past few days. I had to explain a few points to my four year old the first couple of times we read this book. However, the older boys caught the nuances of the storyline without support (discussion) from me. The biggest problem I had was making my kids be quiet the first time my husband read it to them, so they wouldn't spoil the ending for him! 

Creative storyline and fabulous illustrations, I hope you will check this title out soon!