Two Friends, One Dog, and a Very Unusual Week
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Take Pippi Longstocking’s joie de vivre, blend it with a 21st century urban setting, toss in a dog named Otto for good measure and what do you get? This joyfully carefree story about two unlikely friends.
It’s a pair of silver sequined sneakers that unexpectedly flips Emily’s comfortable, predictable world upside down. Or, more precisely, it’s the girl wearing them.
The shoes belong to Rani, who moves into Emily’s apartment building—and her life—with absolutely no one but her dog Otto. (Her research scientist mother is away in Patagonia.) And that’s only the first rule that Emily watches Rani break without hesitation.
But it’s not just that Rani breaks rules. Most of the time, she doesn’t seem to know the rules exist. Why can’t she bungee jump off their building? Or bring an ice cream truck to school?
For steady and orderly Emily, Rani’s approach to life feels impossible . . . and more than a little irresistible. But is there a place for her in Rani’s world? And should she find a way to make space for Rani in her own?
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nine-year-old Emily Robbins and her family share an apartment building with its manager, Mr. Armand, who keeps chickens, and another family, whose chiding mother leaves rules-based reminders around the building. Emily's life is turned upside-down when a talkative girl named Rani moves solo into the building's unoccupied attic with her massive black dog, Otto. Rani, whose wildlife photographer mother is working in Patagonia, says she's never been to school and cites time spent in Antarctica and Borneo. Rani exhibits a freewheeling, Pippi Longstocking–like perspective—creating a slide in her quarters, building an immediate rapport with local adults, and demonstrating an unusual understanding of social constructs and norms—but her hijinks eventually lead to trouble with various rule-intent adults, as when Otto is taken away because he lacks tags. Fast-paced episodes, nimbly captured in b&w comic-strip-style cartoons from Vogel (Too Much Slime!), keep things moving as Thomson (Wombat Underground) showcases Rani's vivid imagination and, in affectionate prose, the way her welcoming attitude brings community to the fore. Emily's family is white; Rani is described as having brown skin and black curls. Ages 8–12.
