The Nearly Calamitous Taming of PZ

Name: The Nearly Calamitous Taming of PZ
Author: Martha Ritter
ISBN: 978-1-49958-802-6

by Martha Ritter ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

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Awards & Accolades

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Without a home, without a name, and with her puppies taken from her, a foxhound is rescued from a laboratory and begins the treacherous journey of learning how to live in the world.

When PZ-5934—as her tattoo reads, the only name she has ever known—leaves the laboratory cage in which she has lived her entire life, she feels not relief or exultation but paralyzing fear. Everything is new and terrifying—cars, grass, fences, doors, and the tiny black-and-red dot that starts to speak to her. Before long, however, PZ realizes that Dottie the ladybug is a friend who, Jiminy Cricket–like, will help guide her transition to life as a human companion. PZ makes slow progress and becomes attached to her rescuer, Lynn, only to find that once again her life is turned inside out when she becomes the adoptee of a young girl named Olivia, who recently lost her father. PZ—now named Lolly J.—and Olivia want to love each other, but they both struggle with trust and patience, making for a rocky beginning. The third-person narration switches between Lolly J. and Olivia, underscoring the author’s point that the relationship between a dog and a human evolves from changes on both sides. “You know what?” Olivia says to Lolly J. “The thing is, I needed taming, too.” Ritter is at her best when grappling with her main characters’ internal lives, outlining in an accessible, realistically paced way how the psychology of grief and trauma can give way to hope and love. The Disney-fied elements she adds in to enliven the story—e.g., the presence of Dottie and a 101 Dalmations–like rescue in the final chapters—seem somewhat less genuine and successful, though they may help engage younger readers. Ryan’s expressive black-and-white illustrations will do the same.

Essential reading for anyone who has adopted, or is planning to adopt, a dog in need of love.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: 978-1-49958-802-6

Page Count: 223

Publisher: Bradley Street Press

Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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SPOOKY POOKIE

by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2015

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.

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One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.

It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)