3 out of 4 stars
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There is a sweet grey kitty cat on a rat hunting adventure in Puffy and the Formidable Foe by Marie Lepkowski, Ann Marie Hannon, and Margaret B. Hannon. Right away, while trying to find a rat, Puffy meets a mole in a hole. Then Puffy goes on to discover more flora and fauna in the great outdoors. Puffy finds a nice spot to rest and play and stays for a while. Soon Puffy notices a creature similar to herself, but not quite the same. Puffy gets too close and suffers the smelly consequences.
Puffy and the Formidable Foe is a quick read with pleasant rhythms and rhymes. The story is quite charming. It seems like a book that would quickly become a bedtime favorite. The lovely full-page illustrations are very colorful and have a narrative quality that makes them worth spending time with. I can picture a child’s little fingers pointing to the sweet creatures on the pages. Animals and insects are shown in landscapes complete with hills, valleys, trees, grass, flowers, mushrooms, bodies of water and clouds. My favorite illustrations are of the scenes where Puffy gets a bath. The bubbles are so charming it is easy to forget that cats don’t like baths and that Puffy is probably not enjoying it.
The authors have included tips for making the book a good learning opportunity and offer suggestions for discussions you could have with children about the book. They even offer a “Big Words” vocabulary list. Another great bonus feature of this book is a coloring page for the child to use. This is described as a reward for the child for good reading and the authors will even send you a second blank coloring page should that be needed. They have provided contact information to facilitate the delivery of these items. I didn’t try to request them and can’t comment on how well that part of the experience goes.
The only thing that I found less than positive was the style of the graphic elements they used to set the text apart from the illustrations. White space was added to the illustrations in a cloud shape and the text is inside the cloud. I found the shapes distracted from the great illustrations and think a simpler shape, like an oval, might have been better.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The illustrations really make this book extra sweet and the story is fun. I recommend this book to anyone with a young child in their life. I didn’t notice any typos.
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Puffy and the Formidable Foe
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