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Buster Goes to Cowboy Camp


BUSTER GOES TO COWBOY CAMP; Denise Fleming; New York: Holt, 2008; unpaged. Picture Book

When Brown Shoes leaves town for the weekend, Buster has his choice of staying with Mrs. Pink Slippers (who loves cats) or going to Cowboy Camp. He chooses Camp only as the lesser of two evils and is not comforted by Mr. Red Boots kindness, nor by the snoring, drooling dog in the next bunk. His bed is lumpy, things don't smell right, and he misses Brown Shoes and Betty. But soon Buster makes friends, does paw painting with the other dogs, accidentally has fun playing catch, and eats beans and bacon for supper. Buster has such a good time, in fact, that pretty soon he is the dog dreaming, snoring, and drooling. Fleming's bright Southwestern colors, and funny little canines make Buster the cowpoke a delightful exemplar of what can happen when you have to to Something New.

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