"Richard wanted a dog, any kind of dog. But his mother said a dog was too much trouble..." Each of the substitutes Richard's mother offers in place of a dog (caterpillar, mouse, alligator, lamb, etc.) has a feature in common with one breed of dog shown in the illustration on the facing page (an alligator, for example, is long like a dachshund) but Richard only wants a dog. The patterned language of the text balances the exaggerated humor of the illustrations in this delightful picture book. Honor Book, 1992 CCBC Caldecott Award Discussion. (Ages 3-6)