Antoinette

PreS-Gr 1—DiPucchio and Robinson follow up Gaston, their book about a French bulldog in a family of poodles, with a tale about his pal Antoinette, the lone poodle in a litter of French bulldogs. Antoinette's siblings all have special talents, but she's not sure what makes her stand out. All that changes, however, the day that Antoinette's and Gaston's families meet up and Gaston's sister Ooh-La-La goes missing. Stalwart Antoinette refuses to give up in the face of adversity and soon proves herself. Expressive and energetic, Robinson's acrylic illustrations are full of details that establish the Parisian setting, from the Eiffel Tower in the background to the beret on a painter in the park, and the climactic moment takes place in the Louvre, on the famed Winged Victory of Samothrace statue. The images have a flat, almost childlike feeling, with the artist using simple shapes to portray characters and objects and convey a sense of whimsy that matches the text. The focus is the dogs, but many ethnically diverse people appear in the background. While this is a straightforward story, with the familiar message that sometimes it takes time to discover one's raison d'être, DiPucchio brings a lighthearted, arch quality to her narration, breaking the fourth wall here and there ("Busy aren't they? And ridiculously cute, but please don't tell them that."). Overall, this picture book is bound to have children rapt until the conclusion—and soon begging for another read.