by Stephanie Calmenson and Joanna Cole
Published 2013 – This is an Advanced Reader’s Copy provided in exchange for an honest review, etc etc
So this is another book for younger readers, an early-reader chapter book about two best friends who LOVE DOGS but can’t own one because of their apartment restrictions. When they find a pair of matching necklaces at a thrift store, they discover that the necklaces can turn them into dogs! And adventures ensue.
This was a fairly simple book, but I think that it did a fine job of not falling into too many stereotypes – the girls are neither obsessed with girlishness or insistent on proving they are “as good as” the boys. The boys in the story are not mean or bullies, but just boys. While their moms are both single moms, we manage to get past that with just a couple of sentences: “Their moms were best friends just like they were … They were single parents and helped each other out a lot.”
While the girls start out by using their dog-power to tease the boys, in the end they all become friends and work together for the common good – writing a new jingle for the Adopt-a-Dog Week at the local shelter.
Fairly inane, but a book I won’t be embarrassed to hand over to my little sister. 3/5.
The Aroma of Books 