Official Review: Pepper the Pooper by Rachel Proper

[BookishCreature]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Pepper the Pooper" by Rachel Proper.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Potty training is a big deal for little kids – and for little puppies too! Rachel Proper’s Pepper the Pooper is a picture book that follows a cute black Labrador named Pepper as she learns important lessons about potty training and obedience.

Picture books live and die by their pictures, so I’ll start there. The illustrations in this book are utterly charming. I’ve owned black Labs in the past, so Pepper was instantly recognizable and endearing. Every picture is full of bright colors, pretty backgrounds, and adorable anthropomorphic dogs. The text portions of the story were just as appealing to the eye – the font choice is great and the written sections are set off with colorful borders that really grab your attention.

The writing itself, however, wasn’t quite as appealing. The story is written in verse, but many of the lines don’t rhyme the way they should. Almost-but-not-quite-rhymes like ‘eyes/nice’ and ‘strong/mom’ were very distracting and confusing – it actually took me several pages to realize that the book was meant to be verse in the first place.

The tempo was also a little off. Just when I started to get into the rhythm of the words, an overly-long line would make me stumble. I find this off-kilter verse to be frustrating in a read-aloud book. Pepper the Pooper would be greatly improved if the author just switched to simple prose with a more natural flow.

Of course, I have to talk about the storyline itself. Pepper is doing a great job of using the potty like a big girl, until she gets too wrapped up in her playtime and has an accident. Her friends all make fun of her – the illustration shows her in tears as the other puppies point and laugh. Though Pepper’s mom says “I still love you my dear,” she also threatens to “growl” if Pepper has another accident. This struck me as rather harsh. I’m by no means a parenting expert, but shaming and threatening a child (or a puppy) into using the toilet seems rather counter-productive. I think a more accepting, forgiving reaction would produce better results.

Pepper the Pooper could also use another quick pass by a proofreader. I found punctuation errors on five of the twelve double-page spreads, all of which could be easily fixed.

In the end, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. The lovely illustrations don’t quite make up for the stilted verse, but I can still see the book having value for parents – if they don’t take issue with the characters’ harsh reactions to an accident.

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Pepper the Pooper
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[revna01]

I had to laugh at your descriptions! I loved your review and could see myself having the same positive and negative reactions that you had. What a cute story, full of several lessons for the potty-training age group. Great review!

[kandscreeley]

It's too bad that this one wasn't as thrilling as it could have been. Because it SOUNDS like a really cute story. Plus, I'm sure parents could always use another potty training book. Oh well. Maybe some editing could make this book better. Thanks!

[stacie k]

Thanks for this honest, insightful review! Pepper the Pooper had great potential to be a fun tool for parents in potty training, but the harsh treatment for mistakes would definitely rule it out of my library. Even after another round of editing, I don't think I could include it.

[dtb]

Pepper the Pooper is a fun title. Let's hope poor Pepper can grow out of that nickname before becoming a teen. Thanks for a good review.

[Jude Austin]

Pepper the Pooper is a fun title.

Agreed! It was the title that made me want to check out this review, although like some others here, the harsh treatment of mistakes means it's not going on my bookshelves any time soon. Thanks for a great and entertaining review though