In an offbeat exploration of color, the creator of the “Blue Dog” paintings asks, “Why is Blue Dog blue?” Rodrigue goes on to say that “artists don’t have to paint things the way they really are.” Indeed, Blue Dog can be painted “mustard” when the artist is hankering for a hot dog, or “tan” when he visits the beach. Blue Dog becomes a virtual chameleon, as he is pictured in shades from salmon to moss green, but in the end, Rodrigue is drawn back to his original inspiration: the blue sky. Changes in the color and size of the font, and its creative placement on the page, contribute to this whimsical treatise on Blue Dog, a well-known icon the author first painted in 1984. (Ages 4-8)