DORY DORY BLACK SHEEP

First-grader Dory's imagination exceeds her reading ability, but after a black sheep follows her out of the pages of a book, she decides to work at this new skill.

In a third title in this engaging chapter-book series, Dory (whom her family calls Rascal) describes her struggles with reading. Secretly she envies her new friend, Rosabelle, who reads “big thick chapter books.” She and her reading partner and “old friend,” George, have to read a “babyish farm book.” No wonder they hate reading. But ever inventive Dory concocts a far more interesting story in which a black sheep she names Goblin follows her out of the book, her enemy, Mrs. Gobble Gracker, kidnaps it, and her fairy godmother, Mr. Nuggy, turns Mrs. Gobble Gracker into a whiny kid. Even Rosabelle is entranced. Hanlon’s childlike drawings appear in and around the story and help carry it along to a satisfying conclusion. In seven fast-moving chapters, Dory progresses from reluctant reader to determined learner, with plenty of adventure along the way: visiting Rosabelle in her castle, donning a superhero costume, rescuing Rosabelle’s little brother, and traveling beyond the universe to return the lost sheep to his family.

Dory’s fans will be entertained by this further adventure; an early illustrated spread will quickly draw new readers into Dory’s fantasmagorical worlds.