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- Pansy at the Palace Reviewed By Carolyn Warren of Bookpleasures.com
Pansy at the Palace Reviewed By Carolyn Warren of Bookpleasures.com
- By Carolyn Warren
- Published November 13, 2012
- Childrens & Young Adults
Carolyn Warren
Reviewer Carolyn Warren: Carolyn is the author of Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers, an Amazon bestseller and Book of the Month pick for The Washington Post (8/08). She also writes for the Christian market. Praying Through Your Pregnancy was a finalist in the 2010 ECOA Book Awards. She enjoys reading nonfiction, literary fiction, and women's mainstream novels. Follow Here To Find Out More About Carolyn and Here.
Author: Cynthia Bardes
Illustrator: Kim Weissenborn
ISBN: 978-0-615-69253-1
Pansy at the Palace is a picture book about an adorable brown poodle who is rescued from homelessness by Avery, a little girl who also has curly brown hair. Avery adores Pansy and takes him to live with her in the Beverly Hotel. Soon, Pansy gets caught up in a mystery that involves a jewel thief and a fluffy white cat.
The mystery is simple and easily solved; but hey, this is a book for young children. My granddaughters love it and ask to hear read over and over again. After reading the story, we got out a stuffed dog and cat and did a role play of the story. That was a lot of fun for them and spurred their imaginations to create variations of the plot.
I was both surprised and delighted with the superior
quality of the book itself. The pages are extra thick, so reading it
over and over again, as little ones like to do, will not wear it out.
High praise is due to illustrator Kim Weissenborn. The
pictures enhance the story and imagination. Every page contains loads
of detail to discuss with preschoolers as you read them the story.
The animals are cute, the characters are engaging, and the colors are
beautiful.
I love that Pansy is adopted from an animal shelter.
I have to disagree with
reviewers who criticize the author for setting the story in a luxury
hotel. Most Americans enjoy watching wealthy people and viewing
luxury locations on TV. What’s wrong with portraying this side of
society? It does exist, and it’s fun to make-believe. I find that
children have no problem with this at all. The author herself lived
in this hotel, and there is a photo of her with the actual Pansy on
the dust cover.
I wish standard English paragraphing rules had been
followed. Specifically, when a new character speaks, a new paragraph
should begin. It’s a minor detail, but I don’t care for “once
upon a time” as an opening for a contemporary book. But that's me.
Overall, this is a delightful children’s story, visually rich, that actually has a plot, resolution, and a good message about valuing pets.
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