Devoting time to reading after school can sometimes be a pain point for parents with school-aged children. They may either find it boring or say it’s hard, and after spending a day in the books with their teachers, kids may be reluctant to spend their downtime diving into a new read.
To help encourage reading in your household and ignite an excitement for books in your child, HarperCollins’ newly released Leave It to Plum! may do just the trick. Written by award-winning author Matt Phelan, this newly released young middle-grade novel is a wonderful option for building confidence in children’s reading skills and guiding them to begin reading on their own.
Readers ages six to ten will enjoy the engaging black-and-white illustrations, short chapters and fun plot that’ll have them smiling and laughing with each page.
Encourage your reluctant reader with this adorable read!
The Story
When a small mammal with an oversized ego tries to take over the zoo, just leave it to the big-hearted peacock Plum to save the day
Plum is a peppy, curious and kind purple peacock. He’s extremely proud of his role as a peacock ambassador for the Athensville Zoo and spends every day roaming the zoo to greet and guide the guests.
Unlike the other animals at Athensville, only the peacock ambassadors are able to wander the zoo’s grounds freely–and Itch the ningbing (a small marsupial deriving from Australia) takes notice of this. The mischievous critter believes it’s unfair that the “birdbrains” are free and begins plotting a top-secret plan to escape and takeover as zoo ambassador.
So when the peacock ambassadors are one day coincidentally framed as thieves at the scene of several crimes and locked up in their pen, Plum knows it’s up to him to solve the mystery. Your children can follow Plum on his adventure of cracking the case and discovering who set up the ambassadors.
What Others Have to Say About Leave It to Plum!
“A bighearted peacock with boundless cheer stars in this lively zoo caper by Phelan. . . . Peacocks have long been official guest ambassadors at the Athensville Zoo . . . but not everyone is happy about the arrangement, especially not a dour, power-hungry marsupial called Itch . . . With occasional grayscale art presented alongside amusingly self-important, cinematically rendered characters, Phelan offers winning animalian antics for chapter book beginners.” – Publishers Weekly
“Plum the peacock . . . and the rest of his flock are charged with welcoming and interacting with the human visitors . . . But trouble is brewing in the form of disgruntled ningbing Itch, a tiny Australian marsupial who seethes about the unfairness of his own captivity . . . The story is a hoot . . . Young readers will relish this splendid hullabaloo at the zoo.” – Booklist
“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. . . . The expressive ink-and-wash animal portraits that pack his short chapters of well-paced narrative are done in a fanciful style. . . . 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.’” – School Library Journal
Purchase your copy of Leave It to Plum! today and watch your child fall in love with books!
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