When a small stray dog named Lulu is taken in by an itinerant painter named Remy, unexpected things happen. Remy, whose vision is poor, explains that he paints “the essence of a person, not their likeness ... Lulu noticed that few people were willing to pay for 'essence.’” So she starts painting, too. At each sitting, while Remy produces a large, abstract, often unflattering rendering of his human subject, Lulu paints a perfect miniature portrait of the person’s pet, embellished to capture the character of its owner. Her paintings are a huge hit, and Remy and Lulu are suddenly in demand. But Remy’s vision is so bad that he is unaware of what Lulu is doing and assumes the lavish praise is all for him, until one of their clients, a famous optometrist, presents him with a pair of glasses. Will this be the end of a beautiful friendship? Kevin Hawkes’s delightful conceit ultimately affirms the unique vision and sensibility of each of these two artists, not to mention the strength of their friendship. (Ages 5–9)