Leave It to Plum!

April 1, 2022

Gr 3-7-In this alliterative zoo tale, peppy purple peacock Plum befriends Jeremy, a sad and solitary street kitty, who returns the favor by saving all the peafowl from a frightening fate. It seems that nefarious ningbing Itch, a mouselike marsupial aiming to get the feathered flock ejected, has concocted a scheme to frame the flightless fowl for a series of theft, and then dispatch them via an "accident" on the zoo's closed-off elevated monorail. Fortunately, Plum manages to send a signal that brings his feline ally racing to the rescue in the nick of time. And being grateful, as well as the most beneficent of birds, Plum goes on to hook Jeremy up with lonely new zookeeper Lizzie. Perhaps Phelan can be forgiven for portraying the tails of both peacocks and peahens with the same calligraphic swirls, as the expressive ink-and-wash animal portraits that pack his short chapters of well-paced narrative are done in a fanciful style. Progressing readers weaned on similarly sited anthropomorphic shenanigans like Diane Redfield Massie's Baby beebee bird or Philip Stead's Amos McGee tales will find their suspicions that it really is all happening at the zoo further confirmed. VERDICT A buoyant tale for younger middle grade readers, with a mild dose of danger for spice and an extroverted protagonist on a mission to "mingle, guide, delight."-John Edward Peters

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 16, 2022
A bighearted peacock with boundless cheer stars in this lively zoo caper by Phelan (Knights vs. Dinosaurs). Free-range peacocks have long been official guest ambassadors at the Athensville Zoo, seeking to “Mingle! Guide! Delight!” But not everyone is happy about the arrangement, especially not a dour, power-hungry marsupial called Itch, a ningbing with an inflated sense of his own smarts. Fed up with being caged while others roam free, Itch plots to frame the pea-fowl for a manufactured crime spree with the help of some wily, sticky-fingered squirrels. When the plan results in entrapment, a “peppy, purple peacock” named Plum plays detective to gain their release, and in the process, his sleuthing sees him standing up to bullies and growing in social awareness. Luckily, the congenial protagonist is also able to draw on the help of new friends, including a lonely street cat and an introverted new zookeeper, and by book’s end, everyone is better off than they were at the start, including the series starter’s villain. With occasional grayscale art presented alongside amusingly self-important, cinematically rendered characters, Phelan offers winning animalian antics for chapter book beginners. Ages 8–12. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.

May 15, 2022
Grades 3-5 Plum the peacock is an exuberant ambassador at the Athensville Zoo, part of the grounds' long tradition of free-roaming peacocks. Plum and the rest of his flock are charged with welcoming and interacting with the human visitors, happily hopping into selfies or helpfully pointing the way to exhibits. But trouble is brewing in the form of disgruntled ningbing Itch, a tiny Australian marsupial who seethes about the unfairness of his own captivity while the foolish birds are free to roam. He conspires to displace the peacocks and take over as a more educational ambassador, and it's up to Plum to sort out the schemes and keep the zoo humming. The story is a hoot, combining the hilarity of chatty zoo animals with more somber undertones of loneliness, though everyone has found their perfect place by the conclusion. Plum is a chipper and generous, if not sweetly oblivious, guide through the proceedings, while the ningbing is delightfully menacing, and cartoonish sketches enhance the lighthearted tone. Young readers will relish this splendid hullabaloo at the zoo.

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September 1, 2022
The peacocks at the Athensville zoo have the privilege of roaming the premises, welcoming visitors with their impressive fantails with instructions to "Mingle! Guide! Delight!" Jealous ningbing Itch, a resident of the Small and Unusual Mammal Pavilion, decides that he has had enough of the free-ranging peacocks. With the help of some squirrels, Itch frames the peacocks for a series of small thefts. The ensuing drama stars Plum, a peacock with a huge heart; Jeremy, a stray kitten; Lizzie, a lonely new zookeeper; and Itch, the egotistical villain. Add a broken monorail, a habitrail that allows small mammals to journey through the zoo, and unsuspecting visitors, and the stage is set. The brief, heavily illustrated novel, like Phelan's Knights v. Dinosaurs (rev. 10/18), has the visual presentation, lively characters, and fast plot that make for a friendly experience for early-chapter-book readers. Copious spot illustrations in black and shades of gray feature a loose, energetic line. Peacock tails swirl proudly, and animals caper across the pages. By story's end, Itch has been given a new assignment that allows him to use his knowledge, and his belief in his own superiority, to good effect. The zookeeper has a new pet and the peacocks are back welcoming visitors, so "all's well at the Athensville zoo." Maeve Visser Knoth

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2022
The peacocks at the Athensville zoo have the privilege of roaming the premises, welcoming visitors with their impressive fantails with instructions to "Mingle! Guide! Delight!" Jealous ningbing Itch, a resident of the Small and Unusual Mammal Pavilion, decides that he has had enough of the free-ranging peacocks. With the help of some squirrels, Itch frames the peacocks for a series of small thefts. The ensuing drama stars Plum, a peacock with a huge heart; Jeremy, a stray kitten; Lizzie, a lonely new zookeeper; and Itch, the egotistical villain. Add a broken monorail, a habitrail that allows small mammals to journey through the zoo, and unsuspecting visitors, and the stage is set. The brief, heavily illustrated novel, like Phelan's Knights v. Dinosaurs (rev. 10/18), has the visual presentation, lively characters, and fast plot that make for a friendly experience for early-chapter-book readers. Copious spot illustrations in black and shades of gray feature a loose, energetic line. Peacock tails swirl proudly, and animals caper across the pages. By story's end, Itch has been given a new assignment that allows him to use his knowledge, and his belief in his own superiority, to good effect. The zookeeper has a new pet and the peacocks are back welcoming visitors, so "all's well at the Athensville zoo."

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)