Reading Metrics
Description
Bill and Pete set out to save Bill's Cousin Jane, who has been captured along with other endangered animals and taken from Egypt to the Bad Guy's Big Bad Brother's Exotic Animal Farm near New Orleans, Louisiana.
Quick Summary
If you've got a kid who loves silly animal stories with a dash of adventure, Bill and Pete to the Rescue is a fun pick. Tomie dePaola's crocodile duo proper Bill and his little bird sidekick Pete take on a mission to rescue cousin Jane and other endangered animals from a sketchy exotic animal farm near New Orleans, and the journey from Egypt to Louisiana gives the story a great sense of travel and stakes. The humor is classic dePaola (Pete being small but mighty, Bill's dramatic worrying), and younger kids will get a kick out of the teamwork dynamic while picking up a few facts about animals along the way. There's a little bit of tension when the animals are in danger, but nothing too scary more "can they pull this off?" than anything frightening, making it perfect for kids in kindergarten through third grade who are ready for chapter books but might not want anything too intense. Fans of the "Henry and Mudge" series or other early animal adventures will probably click with this one, and the short length (under 1700 words) means even reluctant readers can finish it in a sitting or two. It's the kind of story that leaves you smiling, and kids often want to hear it again which is really the best sign that dePaola nailed the tone.