Trouper is a touching story of a black lab who is rescued from the pound.  Told from the dog’s point of view, readers learn that he ran with a pack of mutts until caught by an animal control worker.  The beautiful watercolor cover of this picture book gives hints of the emotional pull this story will have with readers, but the reason to make this a read aloud is to work with kids on the reading of the artwork.  The causal reader will be enjoying and predicting the storyline and then forced to re-read when they encounter the cover art’s page within the book 3/4 of the way through as the dog says “Before you found me, I thought all the kids were mean, though I dreamed each night I might find just one who didn’t mind so much my hairy stump, who liked the way I lean on those I love.”  The careful reader will have seen in the artwork that Trouper is missing a back leg, but this reader did not!  And first I went back to read only the text.  I then realized that the picture is worth all those words too!  What a great reminder for kids.  Or maybe they do this naturally and I am the one who needed the lesson.  Regardless, E.B. Lewis’s brushwork is extraordinary and deserves just as much attention as the text by Meg Kearney.  Trouper is a worthy addition to any library.