Nellie Belle

PreS—Nellie Belle is a bright-eyed hound dog who escapes her fenced yard and explores the scenery around town. After a scare in the park, she decides home is best and goes back to snuggle up with her teddy bear. The story starts in Nellie's backyard, as she gazes through a hole in the fence. "Is it fun in the yard, Nellie Belle, Nellie Belle? Is it fun in the yard, Nellie Belle?" The page turn shows Nellie digging under the fence and peering back through the same hole: "Digging earth that's very hard, in the yard, in the yard—is it fun in the yard, Nellie Belle?" For every place that Nellie discovers, the text follows the same pattern, asking if it's fun in the street, on the beach, in the sea, and in the park. Nellie looks like she's having fun everywhere—until she gets to the park. Suddenly the bright colors are gone and the pages are filled with dark purple and green foliage with eyes staring out from the dark. Here the pattern breaks as Nellie finally answers, "NO!" and turns tail to run home. The cheery digital illustrations add a lot of humor and use recurring details to guide readers from page to page.