Posey, now a first grader, wants to be a big kid but she is still a little girl.
When everyone starts talking about Luca’s new pet dog, Posey longs for a live pet, but her mother insists that little brother Danny is enough of a challenge at the moment. Also, Posey nervously remembers the time a big dog knocked her down at the park. When a very big dog moves in next door, Posey must face her fears. Armed with the wise words of her chili-cooking grandfather, Posey sets out to meet the new dog and learns that she is braver than she thinks. This Posey book is an especially winning tale. The illustrations show up at just the right moment, reflecting the honest emotions of this lovable little girl. When the older boys tease her, her fists ball up as she stomps away, and when she and her friends share a deliciously scary story, their eyes widen in fear. The sentence length and word choice are perfect for the transitioning reader—any unfamiliar word will be easy to decode in context or by using the phonetic clues.
Storytelling in a book for newly independent readers can seem stiff, but Greene doesn’t miss a step. Posey is the perfect fictional friend for any first-grade girl. (Chapter book. 5-8)
