Perla The Mighty Dog
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In the first children's book written by critically acclaimed, New York Times-bestselling superstar Isabel Allende, Perla, the mighty dog, teaches her human brother, Nico Rico, how to use his superpowers to stand up to a bully.
Perla is a mighty dog who has two superpowers—making people love her, and roaring like a lion. When she finds out her human brother, Nico Rico, is being bullied at school, she knows she has to step in! But what will Perla do?
In a charming and poignant story about the bond between child and pet, Isabel Allende makes her children's literary debut.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Confident and voluble, pooch protagonist Perla—wearing a pink pearl necklace with a star pendant—narrates Chilean American author Allende's picture book debut, demonstrating that fierceness and love can be two sides of the same coin. Perla has "two superpowers. Number one: I can make anybody love me. Number two: I can roar like a lion." Before launching into the main drama, Perla supplies ample backstory, describing young human Nico Rico's persuading his family to take Perla in ("He threatened to stop breathing and die on the spot if they didn't"), Nico's family (their home "once belonged to a wizard"), and more. Meandering text eventually reveals Nico's anguish about being bullied at school, and describes a day at the park when the family encounters a large, unleashed canine. Using superpower number two, Perla chases the marauder off, a move that inspires Nico to confront the school bully with the same joyous ferocity. Sprightly, animated watercolor and ink drawings by Rodriguez (Lola and the Troll) adhere to the text, maintaining the story's high energy level and finding ways to include the touches of domestic magic gestured to throughout this sprightly tale about an unlikely animalian hero. Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8.
