Very Lulu: The (Mostly) True Story of a Training School Dropout

by Stephanie Campisi, Jessica Gibson (Illustrator)

Overview

A heartwarming and funny picture book, based on a true story of a dog named Lulu who learned that the best job is being yourself!

Lulu is training to be a police dog. But while the other dogs sniff out clues and follow orders, Lulu likes to run, play, and chew things instead.

She's different from the others—she's just very Lulu!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492673217
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	450L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 8 Years

About the Author

Stephanie Campisi is an Australian-born author currently living in the US. When not writing picture books, she works as a copywriter in Washington. Very Lulu is her fourth book. You can visit her at stephaniecampisi.com

Jessica Gibson is a self-taught illustrator from Michigan who has worked for various companies, publishers, and private clients. Her heart-warming, whimsical illustrations are geared towards children's books. Jessica’s work has been featured in many children's books, magazines, zines, and some galleries. Visit her online at jessicamgibson.com

Editorial Reviews

"The book is a winner. Lulu is a charming protagonist, and the happy ending will have readers (and those read to) smiling." — New York Journal of Books

From the Publisher

2019-06-23
Lulu's a fun-loving dog who flunks out of police-dog school only to discover that being herself is the greatest achievement of all.

Though Lulu is shunted into police-dog training because of her good sniffing skills, it quickly becomes clear that she is not a good fit for the work, despite well-meaning intervention and persistent effort. The "free spirit" is simply unable to perform the required doggy tasks. Lulu's true place is in a home with a family—her handler's, as it turns out. Throughout, the author is careful not to refer to the playful, happy Lulu in the pejorative—and this may seem a small point at first, but it is really the most important part of this joyful story. The one mention of "failure" is handled carefully: When the police-dog trainer exhorts Lulu to "be more like other dogs? You don't want to fail, do you?" Lulu despairs, as she "had not known a dog could fail at anything." Children weighed down by the conformist pressures of school, sports, and other activities will see that there are other ways to find one's place in the world. The artwork is bright and dynamic, with lots of frenetic doggy movement; Lulu's handler and her family present black; the police-dog trainer presents white.

Children will cheer for Lulu and learn the importance of being themselves. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews