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YOUNGER FICTION
Phelan, Matt

Leave It to Plum!

128 pp. | Greenwillow | June, 2022 | Trade ISBN 978-0-06-307916-8 $16.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-06-307919-9 $9.99
(2) 1-3 The peacocks at the Athensville zoo have the privilege of roaming the premises, welcoming visitors with their impressive fantails with instructions to "Mingle! Guide! Delight!" Jealous ningbing Itch, a resident of the Small and Unusual Mammal Pavilion, decides that he has had enough of the free-ranging peacocks. With the help of some squirrels, Itch frames the peacocks for a series of small thefts. The ensuing drama stars Plum, a peacock with a huge heart; Jeremy, a stray kitten; Lizzie, a lonely new zookeeper; and Itch, the egotistical villain. Add a broken monorail, a habitrail that allows small mammals to journey through the zoo, and unsuspecting visitors, and the stage is set. The brief, heavily illustrated novel, like Phelan's Knights v. Dinosaurs (rev. 10/18), has the visual presentation, lively characters, and fast plot that make for a friendly experience for early-chapter-book readers. Copious spot illustrations in black and shades of gray feature a loose, energetic line. Peacock tails swirl proudly, and animals caper across the pages. By story's end, Itch has been given a new assignment that allows him to use his knowledge, and his belief in his own superiority, to good effect. The zookeeper has a new pet and the peacocks are back welcoming visitors, so "all's well at the Athensville zoo."
Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

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