Pete's Disappearing Act

by Jenny Tripp

Book Overview

Pete the poodle is back! But where's the big top? Pete the poodle's beloved life at the circus has suddenly gone sour. So Pete runs away to become a lapdog for the rich and famous Airhead Heiress.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152061770
• ISBN13: 9780152061777
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5

Customer Reviews

Readers Will Be Glued to this Good-Hearted Page-Turner

Pink poodle circus performer Pete's problems start when he begins working with Rita the chimp as a partner. Pete dances on the ball, twirling a baton in his teeth while Rita rides a bike around the circus ring. Then Rita gets bored or jealous, and spontaneously changes the routine. To his indignation, Pete finds himself Rita's straight man and the butt of Rita's clowning around. This results in a regrettable "nipping Rita's rump" incident, which is eclipsed with the accidental "biting the ringmaster's hand" episode. Pete feels terrible about his lapses, and this feeling is compounded by the way all of his circus friends begin giving him the cold shoulder. The silent treatment continues, day after day, until poor Pete is so demoralized that his trainer, Mike, takes him home for a little TLC. Pete enjoys Mike and his wife's attentions. When he sees a TV news flash about the missing pet of the "Airhead Heiress," he can't help but wonder what it would be like to become a pampered pet instead of a working dog. When he returns to work, he overhears Mike and his wife talking about maybe leaving Pete behind the next time the circus moves on. Pete decides he'll run away. He takes off, running into Rita --- and a big quarrel. Suddenly a tornado twists through and picks up the battling performers, twirling them through the black sky. A couple of horses (these characters are hilarious) offer up some slow-witted counsel to the unexpected traveler, finally taking him to meet the dog Buck, a canine overseer for "Miz Shaw," the farm's owner. Tickled by Pete's tricks, Miz Shaw feeds him. She appreciates Pete (who she calls "Trixie"), until Buck scams Pete into rooting up her special flowers. Buck tops that off by manipulating Pete into attacking a black-and-white-striped "pole cat" that sprays him. Meanwhile, Pete meets a duck named Quackers, who is stage-struck and constantly inflicting him with his terrible impersonations. Pete is shocked to hear that he's now in Kansas --- a long way from the circus in Florida. How will he ever get home again? Just as he's missing his old pals in the worst, most homesick way, Pete stumbles upon one of them in Miz Shaw's root cellar. He and Rita fall upon each other, hugging in tremendous relief. And when he introduces her as his partner, they both know all is forgiven and are back to being friends. Now, Pete and Rita are determined to make their way back to the circus. Quackers manages to persuade them that they need him along to navigate with his unerring south-finding bird instinct. As they set off under the cover of nighttime darkness, all is well until they find they must cross a river. Since chimps don't swim, they have to manage to borrow a picnicking couple's canoe --- and that is just the start of their many adventures as they travel toward home. PETE'S DISAPPEARING ACT is a delightful read, with a rapid adventure-filled plot, quirky characters, and many laugh-out-loud quips and asides. Pete, with the help of his t

Movie, Please

Did you ever see the movie Babe? It's about the pig who can talk to all other animal species, except humans--although he (?) can understand their speech, just not answer back in kind. Well, this book is in that same vein with a circus canine as the star attraction. You should start with the first book in this series to really grasp the whole picture. Anyway, Pete the pink poodle (and ever the character) is in trouble. Rita the chimp becomes his partner now, and they don't like each other. They argue, she throws an orange at him, and the next night--in the ring--he chomps her after she makes fun of him. Trying to escape from her into the ringmaster's arms, he bites him as well (although not meaning to, just trying to hang on). Pete is subsequently shunned by all of Circus Martinez, and the owners think of dropping him from the troop. In shame and anger, Pete hops out of his camper, only to find Rita right behind him. They both immediately get sucked up by a twister, only to be blown far away and apart from each other . . . To tell you any more would be to give away the plot, so I'll stop here. But this book is wonderfully good at giving you visual images, so it really needs to be a movie.