Colour and design are standout features of this first picture book by Toronto artist Lisa Rotenberg. Rodeo Pup is about a young Dalmatian who runs afoul of his young owner and then redeems himself with an attention-getting demonstration of cleverness. The pup’s owner, a young girl, narrates the story in 27 mostly short sentences. The story concludes with the information that children all over the world send Rodeo Pup fan mail. In a postscript, readers are invited to write Rodeo Pup at his web site and are told that he’ll write back.

Touted on its cover as “an unbelievable adventure (with some really good advice for dog lovers),” Rodeo Pup doesn’t quite deliver on its own hype. Its story is more fanciful than “unbelievable” and more incident than “adventure.” Its advice is so elementary that “really basic” would have been a more accurate assessment of its value.

Beginning readers will appreciate the large bold upper and lower case print used to tell Rodeo Pup’s brief story. Presented on alternate pages, the text appears on white zigzag-edged backgrounds, each bordered with a different colour. The presentation of advice is less friendly for beginning readers. In single sentences at the top of the book’s fully illustrated pages, the advice appears in very small upper case print that looks hand-lettered. A note to parents on the dedication page suggests that the advice is intended more to be read to children than by them.

Although some text pages feature a small complementary illustration, the full-page illustrations facing each page of text are the true showcase for Rotenberg’s art. Featuring for the most part Rodeo Pup, whose cartoon-like appearance suggests there’s terrier as well as Dalmatian in his background, Rotenberg’s paintings with their speckles, spattering, loops, whorls, smudges, dots, and dashes of colour clearly demonstrate her flair for graphic design. The end papers suggest a Rodeo Pup wallpaper could be in the offing.

While there’s a sense of high hope about Rodeo Pup’s presentation, there’s also a sense of ambiguity. Rodeo Pup is neither strong story nor strong fact book. For what it offers, its price is steep. Its web site and e-mail invitation seem almost like a compensatory offer – but one more suited to readers older than its intended audience. More story look than story book, Rodeo Pup is a bright but slight addition to picture book literature.