So much funny, mostly in the form of the narrator's voice and Stick Dog's patient, diplomatic interactions with his four bumbling friends (he has . . . I guess you wouldn't say "people skills" but "dog skills"), to whom he is unfailingly loyal despite the ways they continually make it difficult for him to realize his single-minded goal of obtaining food. While Stick Dog has laser focus, a long attention span, a strong grasp of logic, and insight into the world of humans, his companions are entirely lacking in any and all of those qualities. So their plans for stealing yummy grub from Peter's frankfurter cart involve things like buying a helicopter at the helicopter store that they assume will be at the local mall on sale for a dollar or two, except they keep getting distracted by things like inchworms and accidentally abducted in laundry baskets. Their adventures and interactions entertained me on every page.
Stick Dog is a master of tact. For example, upon hearing Mutt's outrageously inane plan:
Stick Dog closed his eyes. "Umm."
"Yeah?" said Mutt. He was very excited. It's great, isn't it?"
"It is great," said Stick Dog, trying to let him down easy. "It's great in a sort of non-great way. Sort of. Umm, yeah."
. . .
This seemed to suddenly make sense to Mutt. "Not going to work?"
"Oh, I'm not saying that at all," said Stick Dog. "But because there is just a sliver of doubt about its feasibility, maybe we should listen to some other ideas too."
And, later, with Poo-Poo and his plan.
Poo-Poo looked a little sad--and a little disappointed--when Stick Dog pointed out this flaw in his plan. Stick Dog saw this and added, "You know, Poo-Poo, that's a really sophisticated plan you came up with. [That idea] has probably never been considered before. You are, no doubt, the only creature on the planet who could come up with it."
Young readers will, undoubtedly, not be nearly as gentle laughing at the silliness of the other dogs--though they might pick up a few hints from Stick Dog's example--and will get a kick out of out-thinking them and their schemes.
Though it is entirely possible they might get a few ideas that parents and other adults aren't so thrilled about:
The game the five dogs were playing is called BARK! And the game goes like this: Whenever something moves anywhere--a leaf in the wind, a bird flying by, a triceratops charging out of the forest--the first one to bark gets five points. The second one to bark gets four points, the third barker gets three points, and so on. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
Whenever you see two or more dogs barking somewhere, odds are pretty good that they are playing this game.
You should try it too. Get a friend or a sister or a brother or a grandpa and play. Hold real still and then as soon as something moves, bark real loud a couple of times. Keep score and everything. A couple of things to remember when you play this game: First, don't play it at school unless you want detention. Second, when you play this game, people are going to think you're crazy.
Whichever approach readers take, rational or interactive, they'll have a good time.