The Missing Notebook!

PreS-Gr 1–Donkey Hodie’s house is a mess after her dance party with Purple Panda the previous night. When Purple Panda calls from a poetry reading to say that he left his notebook at Donkey’s house, she knows she must embark on a cleaning mission to find it. Struggling to take on the task, Donkey finds different ways to make cleaning fun: making music, pretending to be a superhero, and turning cleaning into a game of trunkball. Finally, she finds the notebook, and Purple Panda is able to share his poem. The text is accessible for early readers, and Donkey’s cleaning methods may prove inspiring for families struggling to get motivated to tidy up. The images are stills from the Donkey Hodie television show, which is produced by the Fred Rogers Productions company and uses puppets. Lacking the exaggerated movement of the show, the puppets appear flat in the images and lose a lot of their humor and characterization. While fans of the show will likely enjoy this title, it may not have any broader appeal.