ven though Daisy Dawson is late for school — again — she can’t help but stop to free a butterfly trapped in a web. And when she does, something amazing happens! Now Daisy can understand everything animals say, from her favorite farm dog, Boom, to the classroom gerbils, to a singing-and-dancing ant. And it’s a lucky thing, too: when Boom goes missing, the girl conspires with a horse and squirrel to come to the rescue. Sweetly illustrated in black and white, this charming story is sure to enchant young animal lovers everywhere. ( )

Daisy Dawson is a known dawdler; she is always getting distracted - particularly on her way to school and often by animals. One morning Daisy rescues a butterfly on her way to school and in return receives the gift of understanding animal talk. Soon Daisy is chatting happily with the animals around her, but then she notices that Boom, her hound dog friend, has gone missing. With a new dogcatcher in town, Daisy and her friends know that it's up to them to save Boom!

Daisy is an engaging heroine who has been told that she lives too much in imaginary worlds - readers who have been told the same will easily identify with her. The animals consist of a wide variety - we encounter a spying squirrel, a singing ant, a prickly cat, and a motherly horse. Two of the standout funny scenes are the introduction of the squirrel (in which he talks in a secret code that only he understands) and a three-way conversation among Daisy, her principal, and the ant. Adults are mainly in the background as befits children's literature. Jessica Meserve's ink and pencil spot illustrations match the dreamy tone of the book perfectly. Since this is numbered, I assume there will be more and that's definitely a good thing. Daisy Dawson is a welcome addition to the ranks of Junie B. and Clementine. ( )

Digging through the archives...

I bought this book for the library back in 2008 and just noticed that the sequel is coming out in the US in May. I bought it for the cover and the cute description, but never actually read it....so I decided to see if it was worth getting the sequels.

Daisy Dawson is an independent individual and loves her morning walks to school....although she has a tendency to be late. One morning, she rescues a butterfly and mysteriously gains the power to talk to animals. Her new ability gets her into trouble, but makes life a lot more interesting too!

This is a charming and unique beginning chapter book. There were a few parts where the plot dragged a little and the description felt a bit long-winded, but on the whole the story is engaging and the characters - human and animal - delightful. I especially liked the strong ink and pencil illustrations, which made an excellent blend with the characters and plot.

Verdict: Not quite fantasy, not quite school story, not quite family story - there's something here for a wide variety of beginning readers, especially those who like animals. I'm definitely getting the rest of the series!

Revisited: This continues to be quite popular with my beginning chapter readers. I did purchase the rest of the series and it's still available in several formats. Still highly recommended!

ISBN: 978-0763637408; Published March 2008 by Candlewick; Borrowed from the library

Genre: Fantasy - chapter book
Media: Pencil
Age Appropriateness: intermediate reading level - could read to primary students
This book is about a young girl Daisy who likes to Dawdle. She is late everyday to school because she stops to talk to her animal friends. She discovers that she is the only one who can talk to and understand animals. They become her friends and when a dog is taken by the pound, they go on a mission to save him. She questions her ability to talk to animals but is reminded that the ability to talk to animals comes from the heart. This is a good example of Fantasy because animals and a human are communicating and they work together to rescue another animal. Daisy is a round character because we know all about her. We see her thought process and witness her communication with the animals. ( )