It’s a good thing more books are on the way.
A homeless dog is on a mission to find an owner in this first entry of a chapter-book series from France.
Dumpster Dog is smelly, looks like an old rug, and can’t tell left from right. This pup of indeterminate breed may not be very smart, but he has a kind heart. Dumpster Dog shares his garbage can with his friend Flat Cat, who was run over as a kitten and is indeed flat. When Dumpster Dog expresses his longing for an owner, Flat Cat encourages the down-on-his-luck pooch to go out into the world and find one (along with a bicycle pump “to re-inflate” his feline pal). Like his fan club of flies, misadventure follows Dumpster Dog everywhere. Just when the hapless Dumpster Dog thinks he’s found his owner, the man takes him to the butcher to be made into sausage. Fortunately, Dumpster Dog isn’t very appealing! (But the poodle and basset hound are destined for somebody’s dinner, a detail the text elides.) He escapes only to come up against a trio of greedy, burgling kidnappers. Can Dumpster Dog save the day? And will Flat Cat ever be reinflated? Independent readers will delight in Dumpster Dog’s tongue-in-cheek escapades; the book is also suitable as a chapter-per-night bedtime story for pre-readers. The full-color artwork is rendered in a 1950s cartoon style with ironic touches that complement the action. Humans are shown as white.
It’s a good thing more books are on the way. (Animal fantasy. 6-10)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59270-235-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Lively fun with animal friends.
Has Plum’s pep deserted him?
Several animals from the Athensville Zoo are on their way to visit an elementary school. Overconfident Itch the ningbing (an Australian marsupial), unaware that zookeeper Lizzie will be doing all the talking, looks forward to “lecturing eager young minds.” Plum, the usually chipper peacock, on the other hand, is anxious—maybe the schoolchildren won’t like him or he’ll get lost. So when they arrive at the school to find the students have been sent home due to a blizzard, Plum is relieved. The animals are left in a school gym for the night until three self-important class mice free them. Itch heads for the library to meet the learned turtle, but Plum reluctantly explores with his friends. When his anxiety peaks, they reassure him, and when the mice reject Meg, another peacock, as “borrrring” and uncool, they buoy her as well before everyone comes together to save Itch, who finds himself outside and stranded in a snowdrift. Unlike Leave It to Plum (2022), this is not a mystery, and the relationship focus shifts from Lizzie to the rodents, but the pace is brisk, and sequel seekers will be pleased to revisit familiar characters (if dismayed that Itch’s longing for knowledge leads to his downfall). In Phelan’s engaging grayscale pen-and-wash illustrations, Lizzie has short curly hair; text and art cue her as Latine.
Lively fun with animal friends. (how to draw Plum) (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-307920-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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