Peanut, Butter, & Crackers Fetch!

K-Gr 3--Dogs Peanut and Butter and their feline friend Crackers are back for a second graphic novel volume full of domesticated adventures. Now that Peanut the puppy is settled into his new home, it's time for him to go to doggy school, but trying to become a good dog is hard work, especially when the bullies of the Littles group target him for being the new kid. Both Crackers and Butter want to help him, but Crackers has to figure out how to get from the Middles to the Littles, and Butter, who's still at home, needs to sneak into the canine-filled facility. Readers will enjoy seeing how much the fur siblings care for one another, as well as their different approaches to resolving Peanut's problem. The artwork is colorful and cartoonish, with panels focusing mostly on the animals. Although humans make intermittent appearances, only a hand or pair of legs are visible, immersing readers into the world of pets. VERDICT Young readers are sure to relate to Peanut's experience of going to school for the first time and his attempts to fit in. Bound to be a hit with young pet lovers.--Amanda Melilli, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas

A puppy has a rough first day of what's effectively doggy kindergarten in a comical graphic adventure. Peanut the floppy-eared puppy lives with Butter the cat and Crackers the dog. Crackers is excited to teach Peanut all about doggy school, where you learn to be a good dog (good dogs get treats). After Peanut and Crackers leave their crate at Barktown Doggy School, though, Crackers and the "middles" are separated from Peanut and the "littles." Tiny Peanut is an easy victim for a pack of bully puppies (many of whom wear dog clothing of varying degrees of silliness). Butter and Crackers, upset by Peanut's clear distress, are determined to help the youngest member of their "fur family." The trio all get drawn into separate adventures, but when chance brings the aspiring rescuers together with Peanut in the pen with the big dogs, they collaborate to save one another. The cartoon illustrations are a good match for both the dogs' exuberance and for the cat's humorously careful posture of ennui. The straightforward linear panels, colored by Efird, will be easy to decode, but the switching point of view among Peanut, Butter, and Crackers as they have their separate adventures will be more of a challenge for younger readers. Final art not seen. Characters seamlessly work both as pets with animal traits and siblings with recognizable new-student fears. (Graphic fiction. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.