Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Five years after Stella Is a Star!, Peters's dancing dog returns, and she's lonely after the (presumed, off-screen) death of her friend Kramer, who appeared in Peters's Broadway Barks: "She just waited by the door for her friend to come back. But Kramer was not coming home." Determined to cheer up Stella, her human "mom," a Peters lookalike, drives from New York City to Texas and back to adopt Charlie, a scruffy brown dog "who was found in a garbage dumpster." Peters devotes several pages to the road trip that brings Charlie to New York City; while this recounting mirrors how Peters adopted the real-life Charlie, it's an odd narrative choice, since it means that the already lonely Stella (who disappears from the story as she's left at home) loses her caretaker for a significant portion of the book. Once Charlie arrives in New York, though, the two dogs soon become fast friends. The cozy mixed-media textures of Murphy's illustrations maintain an upbeat atmosphere, but as animal adoption and friendship stories go, this one has little to distinguish itself. Ages 3-7. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Stella, a dancing dog, is missing her best friend. Charlie, a singing dog, is looking for a new family. After the loss of one dog, Stella's owner makes the long journey from New York to Texas to adopt Charlie. It takes just two sniffs before Stella and Charlie decide to be friends forever. When Stella gets stung by a bee, Charlie is there to lick the sore spot, and when Charlie needs a forever home, Stella is there to make him feel comfortable. Peters's story of loss, new friendship, and sharing is perfectly illustrated with Murphy's soft and colorful mixed-media paintings. The tender story can even be used in a geography lesson, given that it includes a cross-country journey from Texas to New York and a map. VERDICT A good choice for classroom discussions on accepting new faces and being selfless.-Betsy Davison, Cortland Free Library, NY © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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