Fans of the first should enjoy this second hijinks-filled outing of this school story/animal fantasy hybrid.
Hounds Waldo and Sassy are now fully integrated into life at Bea Arthur Memorial Elementary School.
Disguised as human student Salty (who must be a very weird-looking child), the pooches love school. They love running fast in gym and singing in music class. Most of all they love the cafeteria; school lunch is the most delicious food imaginable. When their human boy, Stewart, joins the Junior Office Supply Enthusiasts, a club his paperclip-happy parents enjoyed in their youths, the dogs are a bit dismayed to find out that this club isn’t the kind you can eat, so Waldo and Sassy head to the cafeteria to play “lunch human” while they wait. It’s here they inadvertently start a club of their own. Can they convince Stewart, who doesn’t smell as though he enjoys his club, to resign and join theirs? What will his parents say? Young readers will get a kick out of the wordplay and the many puns, while the irony will induce plenty of eye-rolling among adults. The same playful design elements that distinguished the series opener are present: special typefaces indicate the dogs’ favorite foods and “Salty’s” dialogue. Human skin color isn’t called out within the text, but the familiar cartoonish black-and-white artwork shows a diverse cast of characters, led once again by white Stewart.
Fans of the first should enjoy this second hijinks-filled outing of this school story/animal fantasy hybrid. (Fantasy. 7-12)Pub Date: Jan. 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-18953-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
A real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
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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