LOOK AT LUCY!
by Ilene Cooper and illustrated by David Merrell
Bobby and his beagle puppy Lucy are back in this welcome sequel to Absolutely Lucy (2000, illustrated by Amanda Harvey). Lucy has been a big help with Bobby’s natural shyness, even helping him to meet his first real friends, Shawn and Candy. But Bobby is afraid of the first day of third grade, speaking up in school and meeting new friends, and Lucy’s exuberance sometimes gets out of hand. Once school begins, Lucy misses Bobby and takes to shoe chewing. A contest for a “spokespet” provides an opportunity for Bobby and Lucy to push their social skills—Bobby will have to work with Lucy and perform in public while Lucy will have to focus her wild beagle-energy into more productive activities. Pets and kids are a natural combination, and Cooper gets the nervousness and bravado of third grade just right. New readers will look forward to watching Bobby face the same challenges they do. The familiar characters and Merrell’s frequent, detailed black-and-white illustrations will help them face this relatively long chapter book with confidence. Will they want to read more about Bobby and Lucy? Absolutely. (Fiction. 7-10)