Percy’s Perfect Friend

PreS-Gr 2–New student Percy feels rather lonely and unsure of himself in his new classroom, that is, until he finds comfort in a cuddly stuffed kitten that he dubs Miss Petticomb. With his perfect friend, Percy begins to feel at ease in his new surroundings. However, panic ensues when Percy’s new pal is mysteriously “snatched” from her chair while he is distracted. When she is discovered at a pretend party with tea and cake, Percy worries that he has lost his friend forever to a pair of students in his class. Will Percy snatch Miss Petticomb back? Instead, Percy learns a valuable lesson in what the perfect friend would do. Imaginative play can be scary for newcomers in school, but this book offers a gentle lesson in socializing and making friends for even the shyest of readers. Bright illustrations, including Miss Petticomb’s beautiful pink fur, make each page eye-catching as the simple story moves along. Thick paint strokes also encapsulate the moods of the students swiftly, specifically the worried look on Percy’s face following his stuffed friend’s disappearance. Percy is white, and his friends at the tea party include a Black girl and a white boy.