A woman works to build the trust of a scruffy stray in this heartwarming wordless picture book. From beneath a park bench, the dog watches the woman from a safe distance as she reads her newspaper. The woman returns again and again, one day bringing a tennis ball, another attempting a game of fetch. The dog remains cautious, tail tucked as it drops the ball a few feet from the woman. As the sun sets one cloudy afternoon, the dog follows the woman home without her knowing. It hunkers down in a wilted cardboard box when rain begins to pour. As lightning streaks across the sky, the woman, who looks white, hurries back to the park, only to return home dejected. She finds the dog on the sidewalk outside her door, bundles it up, carries it inside, dries it off, feeds it, and sets up a comfy bed on the floor—which is quickly abandoned in favor of a place on the mattress beside her. Soft pencil-and-watercolor illustrations in warm earth tones tell a satisfying, perfectly paced narrative of patience, trust, drama, and hard-earned companionship that will appeal to readers of a wide range of ages. (Ages 3–8)