Ellie McDoodle

Gr 2—4—Ellie's family is obsessed with pets; her siblings can't agree on what they want, and their parents aren't sure they support any of their choices. At school, Ellie is assigned a multimedia class presentation on an animal. Using a journal format with her doodles on every page, she writes about bird-sitting her neighbor's African grey parrot and does research on the bird for her report. Ellie at first dislikes but then befriends the son of the pet-store owners, loses the parrot, and keeps up with the menagerie her siblings bring home. Interspersed in this story are instructions for games, yoga breathing, and crafts that add to the fun. The book can be read alone, but readers of the first two books will get some of the jokes that are repeated throughout the series. Exuberant black-and-white sketches and dialogue balloons enliven the pages. Recommend this one to fans of Sara Pennypacker's Clementine, Marissa Moss's "Amelia's Notebooks" series (S & S), and Charise Mericle Harper's "Just Grace" series (Houghton).—Debbie Hoskins, Grand Rapids Public Library, MI