January 29, 2024
Spoiled Pug Penelope loves going to Puggleton Park, a bustling recreational area in the center of Regency-era London where she plays fetch, picks bluebells, and wades in the brook before enjoying quiet time eating her special biscuit treats while her Lady indulges in her own favorite raspberry tarts. One day, when a particularly dreadful squirrel steals a tart, Penelope—who’s “manner was gentle, although she was rather untrained”—tears after it and gets lost in the vast park. For weeks she lives as a stray, admiring lavish balls from outside their doors and sleeping on a green peacoat until she meets the coat’s proprietor, widow Lady Diggleton, who takes Penelope home, determined to find her owner despite the disgust of her friend Lady Picklebottom, who believes “animals belong on a farm.” As Lady Diggleton searches for Penelope’s home, Penelope struggles to remember what her life looked like before, trains for polite society, and grows closer with Lady Diggleton. Naif-like illustrations by Peck (Green) breathe life into whimsical descriptions of animal adventures by Kizis (Please Don’t Read This Book) in this sweet story about friendship and finding one’s forever home. Human characters present as white. Ages 7–10.
September 20, 2024
Gr 2-4-Penelope has lost her owner, her beloved lady, and is now "a lone," wandering Puggleton Park. Then she meets Lady Diggelton who takes it upon herself to find Penelope's owner and help her return home. But as time goes by, Penelope finds herself struggling to even remember her former owner as she grows attached to the lovely Lady Diggelton. What will happen when Penelope's original lady is found? Set in 1800s London, this chapter book has an overdramatic tone and uses a conversational style of storytelling. Readers will instantly fall for Penelope, the lovable pug who tries so hard to make others happy yet has a weakness for chasing the taunting Dreadful Squirrel. Secondary characters are flat: a Lady Picklebottom who tries to send Penelope away as quickly as possible and a self-possessed Mr. Weeby convinced of his own dog-training abilities. The true love lies between Lady Diggleton and Penelope, who rise above the odds to secure their friendship. Messages about accepting change and being who you are feel somewhat forced into the story, but the love between pet and person feels authentic and genuine. Sarcastic humor and higher-level vocabulary words target older elementary students while the plot itself skews younger. VERDICT Humorous, endearing, and loaded with quirks, this targets a specific reader and should be a supplemental purchase for chapter book collections.-Emily Beasley
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