Art DogHardcover, 6 January 2004

Faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, more powerful than a locomotive -- well, that's Superman for you. But now there's Art Dog -- a new superhero on the block -- and he's fighting crime with a paintbrush and an unstoppable creative might.

Just as Superman and Batman lead quiet lives during the day as Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne, Art Dog spends his days as Arthur Dog, a mild-mannered guard at the Dogopolis Museum of Art. But under the light of a full moon, he undergoes a transformation into a creative force to be reckoned with. Through a little creativity and an astounding nose for art he manages to sniff out and apprehend a band of thieves who have stolen the priceless Mona Woofa.

Highlighted with characteristically bright and bold illustrations, Thacher Hurd has created an action-packed story that offers a whimsical view of many artistic masterpieces. Littering the pages of "Art Dog" are canine interpretations of paintings such as Wood's "American Gothic," Matisse's "Dance of Life" and "Jazz," Vermeer's "Girl with Turban," Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte," da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and others. Children will recognize some of the paintings and will delight in the dogs replacing their human counterparts.