Pumpkin, The Dancing Puppy product reviews

When my five year old saw the book she squealed "that's Cinderella's dog" and was so excited she quickly grabbed it and sat down flicking thru all of the pages. When she got to the last page her little mouth dropped as she saw other 'princesses' animals.

We had to go out for dancing but as soon as we got home both girls wanted me to read it to them. The pictures are beautiful, actually stunning is more the right word. They ooze Disney and you know it is very magical. The story itself I feel jumps around a bit, it's about a dog Pumpkin who is going to be Cinderella's anniversary gift from the prince. The puppy as always wanted to dance and is so excited when she witnesses the ball. It recalls how Cinderella went to her first ball and then met the prince, lost a slipper and then married him.

I have now read this story at least a 100 hundred times to my two year old as she loves it. We have jumped on the net to check out other Palace Pets and now both of my girls are wanting them all. The animals do look so cute. My five year old started school earlier this year so last night we sat down for her to read it. It is a level 2 Ready to Read book and I was blown away at how well she did. There were a couple of words she got stuck on like 'enchanted' but as a whole it was an easy read for her.

This is great for those 'beginner readers' and for the young ones in your house. The price is awesome and I am sure the rest of the series will be just as magical.

When my daughter saw this book the other day, she was over the moon. "Mum, it's a Littlest Pet Shop book", she grinned. I tried to explain that it was Disney Palace Pets, which is a different brand of toy but she wasn't hearing me. So she flicked through the book happily, cooing and pointing at Pumpkin the puppy on each page. I was half expecting her to ask for a puppy of her own.

Her younger sister loved the pictures in this book almost as much as her sister. It was a bit of a fight whenever one saw the other with it, but thankfully no damage to the book. Although it is a paperback, it's doing well with the rough 2 year old. With the added bonus that at $6 to buy it, you wouldn't cry too much if it was wrecked. Though, we are very keenly trying to teach respect of books!

The story itself is simple. It tells the story of Pumpkin the puppy and how she comes to be Cinderella's pet puppy. It's a lovely little story, and I liked the idea of the first anniversary being marked with a puppy. It was a little glimpse into their world to see what Happily Ever After might include.

The sentence structure and words are a good match for a newly independent reader. My daughter could read some of it, though she is not a strong reader yet. It was good for her to practice on something that is not strictly a "reader" and doesn't feel like school work. She was very happy with the book and it is getting read and re-read a lot.