Petey and Pru and the Hullabaloo

PreS-K—Petey's quiet afternoon spent gardening is interrupted when his friend Pru arrives with her caterwauling cats. He tries to stop the noise by calling for his dog, but the animals' meeting only increases the mayhem. The fight that ensues ends in a dramatic (but safe), fall from a cliff onto the top of a hot-air balloon. While admiring the view, the pair realize, "life is too short not to cherish true friendship." The story includes more than 20 fun words like "shenanigans" and "defenestration" set in bold type; their definitions are on the endpapers. The digital illustrations are bursting with vibrant color and exaggerated clashes. Children may be confused by the message of friendship in this book when they see Pru's mischievous behavior on the last page-she is "feeling tricksy" on that balloon-but it should garner some good discussion.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada