When Ben awakens one morning and finds that his dog doesn't respond with the usual tail wagging when he pets her, he calls his father from the breakfast table. "She's dead," his father tells him. All day long Ben thinks of his dog and the the things they used to do together. Charlotte Zolotow's outstanding text explains and comforts simultaneously while James Ransome's detailed oil paintings aptly show the sadness of a young African-American boy grieving the death of a beloved pet. (Ages 3-8)