Title: Little Abby and Her Animals
Author: T. Steele Petry
Publisher: PageTurner Press and Media
ISBN: 978-1-64908-578-8
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book
Pages: 42
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
Author T. Steele Petry has a new book in the “Little Book” series titled, Little Abby and Her Animals, ideally written for youngsters just learning how to read. Each page has large galley text, boldly printed in all uppercase, with a poetic rhyme of easy-to-learn words about a variety of unique animals.
The text moves along with a smooth, clever rhyming pace, revealing interesting facts about each of the subject animals. Most impressively are the artful illustrations of each of the creatures. There is a dog, a turtle, a hummingbird, a horse, two cats, a dolphin, and many other zoo animals, even an insect. As parents page this book to their children at story time, each page alternates between the poetry and then the picture, allowing readers to immerse their minds into the details of the illustrations, as they also read along with the galley text. This combination of clear and unambiguous text, detailed-orientated illustrations, along with the soft and clever wording, makes for a sensory captivating experience for the youngsters – which is exactly what an illustrated children’s book is meant to do.
The first animal caught my attention and impressed me, allowing me to begin this experience with grand anticipation – it was Ada, Abby’s dog who slept under the covers. The illustration of Ada instantly had me stare into the dog’s eyes, capturing the telepathy a pet such as this has upon its owner. The illustration reminded me of the Blue Dog by artist George Rodrigue, one of my personal favorites – for those of you familiar with this I am certain you’ll see what I mean. Also, the eyes of the cats captivated my attention, allowing me to once again slow down the read and ponder how beautiful felines really are, and how much love they give. Another picture worth mentioning is the pelican, soaring in the air with a wonderful flow of motion, as the bird is also apparently keeping an eye out for food below. The text reads, “LITTLE ABBY KNEW THAT IT’S BILL WOULD SOON BE FULL OF FISHES / AND THAT FISH IS THE ONLY FOOD FOR WHICH A PELICAN WISHES.” The humor of this poem has this memorable phrase – reminiscent of prose from an Ogden Nash poem. A very typical moment in the animal world represented in both humor, rhymes and drawing.
Author T. Steele Petry has a true talent for creating storybooks for children, and Little Abby and Her Animals offers parents the perfect segue to separate the daily activities of kids and get them ready for a dream-filled night of experiencing our world of animals who share our lives. It is a must-have for family libraries, offering a virtual “trip to the zoo” to all readers, over-and-over again.
