Full
Text Review(s)
"Like
Cuckoo
Feathers
(2006), this chapter
book in the Simply Sarah series is about pets in the city. Peter wants a dog,
but the apartment rules don’t allow it. "Problem-solver" Sarah
tries getting him other pets, but nothing seems right, until Peter reluctantly
takes in a stray cat, Patches. Unfortunately, Granny Belle doesn’t want
the cat, and it falls to Sarah to work out a plan. The plot twists and turns,
the dialogue is fast and easy, and the adult characters (including the grumpy
building engineer and Sarah’s distant dad) are as much fun as the kids and
their beloved animals. Ink-and-wash illustrations showing a multiracial
neighborhood add a pleasing shine to story.
––
Hazel
Rochman"
"Sarah—the
"Idea Girl"—Simpson uses her trademark ingenuity to solve a
tricky problem for a friend in this third installment of the series. When her
best friend Peter pines for a pup to call his own, Sarah takes on Mr. Gurdy, her
building’s curmudgeonly superintendent, as well as Peter’s
grandmother’s misgivings, in an attempt to help her pal. However, it soon
appears that Sarah may have finally come across an insurmountable problem when
Peter stoutly refuses her substitute offerings of a goldfish and a turtle and
the super won’t bend on the building’s "no dogs" rule. It
is the timely arrival of an orphan animal in need that probes to be just the
impetus for Sarah to unleash, as it were, her creative problem-solving abilities
and discover the perfect solution. Ramsey’s ink-and-wash illustrations
complement the tale, adding humorous details to spark the reader’s
imaginations. The universal appeal of Sarah and her friend’s kindhearted
compassion, combined with her dogged determination to resolve dilemmas, will
keep readers anticipating further adventures of the ever-resourceful Sarah.
(Fiction.
6-9)"
