Percy and the Promise
Toni Dockter
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Buy *Percy and the Promise* online Percy and the Promise

Toni Dockter
Paperback
FuschiaWoman
248 pages
2003
rated 3 1/2 of 5 possible stars

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Percy Veerance continues his heroic and exciting adventures in the crazy town of Yoosa with Percy and the Promise, the second book in author Toni Dockter’s hilarious and fun "Percy Veerance Series." Geared toward older children and young adults, the goofy people that inhabit Yoosa are an infectiously kooky bunch of farmers, and this highly imaginative fantasy story is sure to delight both boys and girls eager to embrace a hero of their own size who must deal with the ineptness of adults around him on a daily basis.

In the first Percy Veerance book, Percy and the Plod, we met the curious, brave and pretty much otherwise normal Percy, a boy determined to help save his town when even the adults are too chicken to step forward. Not only are the adults too chicken, they all seem to be lost in their own little worlds. In this new installment, Percy once again takes the initiative in saving a lost little alien boy named Sandy, protecting the mysterious new family in town from roaming vigilantes, and trying to stop the evil Luster from wreaking havoc on his beloved Yoosa after a bonehead kid sets the monster loose by accident. Once again, Percy gets little help from the mostly hapless adults in his mist, except for his loving Aunt Flora, and his brave pal Barry, a disfigured giant who lives at the top of Amethyst Mountain.

Meanwhile, Percy experiences his first crush on a girl named Mary and watches as his Aunt Flora falls in love with the local poetry farmer, Bard Leary. And he watches as his dad deals with some feelings of anger and competitiveness, his mom reaches for singing stardom, and the neighbors explore their fear and mistrust of the Pilfers, a strange new family who keep to themselves…and with good reason. Always is his beloved dog, Dilly, by his side.

Percy and the Promise is delightful and quirky, yet also offers some good life lessons for kids about making friends, keeping secrets, not judging others and refusing to give into fear of differences. These are all great themes for today’s kids to be thinking about, what with the climate of fear and anxiety we live in, especially when it comes to dealing with those we deem as “foreign".

I love Toni Dockter’s use of wildly imaginative description, humor, wordplay, and tongue-in-cheek wit, and her adorable illustrations give depth to the characters we are coming to know and love. Percy and the Promise is a whole lotta fun to read, and will no doubt have kids waiting patiently for the next Percy Veerance adventure.


© 2004 by Marie D. Jones for Curled Up With a Good Book

Other books by Toni Dockter:

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