Pippa and Percival, Pancake and Poppy: Four Peppy Puppies was a great way to introduce poetry, rhymes, and alliteration to our homeschool students.  The tale includes the adventures of four puppies frolicking through the neighborhood.  This book was written by Deborah Diesen and published by Sleeping Bear Press.

Poppy starts the story as she heads out for a run and begins to inquire about what is behind a fence. She digs a hole, crawls through, meets Pancake, and the two instant friends set out on the town.  Percival joins the duo’s journey soon thereafter and the three are led to a huge pile of leaves. Pippa pops out and immediately pairs with the pups for a day full of fun.  The quad continues to make their way through town and ultimately end up in a strange alley. While touring the unknown alleyway the puppies encounter the adult version of their nemeses... a cat.  The cat scares the young dogs and causes them to run away expeditiously. The puppies don’t stop running at full speed until they each make their way back to safety at their homes. Pippa, Percival, Pancake, and Poppy each find refuge their respective owner’s arms.

We initially read this during our morning Poetry Tea Time where our oldest pointed out alliterations and explained the use of exclamation marks. During our regular story time our preschool princess enjoyed hearing and repeating the rhyming words while looking at the bright and colorful illustrations. The vibrant, engaging, and creative artwork surely makes this puppy packed adventure come alive to the readers. I also used this book during teaching time with our kindergartener where we reviewed sight words, syllables, letter blends and learned what an exclamation mark was for. The playful text is easy to read and full of opportunities to teach introductory aspects of poetry, rhyme, syllables, and parts of speech to your children.

I think Pippa and Percival, Pancake and Poppy: Four Peppy Puppies is a good, rhyme filled adventure book for preschool and early elementary aged children. This story, written by Deborah Diesen’s and published by Sleeping Bear Press, was equally enjoyable each time we read.  I even noticed the younger two sitting next to our oldest as he read it to them over and over again before bedtime. We all appreciated watching the puppies encounter different things throughout their time together including investigating new areas, facing fears, having fun, and making friends.  However, everyone’s favorite part was when they all arrived home safely and were embraced by their loved ones.

-Product review by Ta’Neisha Kemp, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, June, 2018