Sara Shepard, Penny Draws a Class Trip (Penny Draws, #4), Text Publishing, July 2024, 240 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922790712
In this fourth book in the Penny Draws series, readers get to follow Penny as she travels to New York City on a class trip, courtesy of children’s author Billy J. Plumberry. But a storyline like that needs a little more drama, and what is the most common form of drama for tween girls? My observation from my own household tells me that friendship drama is rife at this age, so it’s a solid plot point to have Penny thrust into a buddy system with her former friend Violet. Violet made an appearance in book #1 of the series but since then Penny has been mainly spending her time with Maria, Kristian and Rocco. So this could be totes awks for sure.
There is also a touch of the Willy Wonka conceit in this book. A benevolent, but slightly quirky, person of power, brings a bunch of children, accompanied by teachers and chaperones, to his excentric castle. Then Penny and her school mates are introduced to a group from another visiting school, and it starts to seem like the two schools are going to be in competition from Billy J. Plumberry’s grand prize – a new library.
One really nice part of the story is that readers of the series will get to see how Penny has grown as a character. While it’s partly Penny’s anxiety which initially drove a wedge between her and Violet, we get a lovely scene where Penny calms Violent down with strategies she’s learned for dealing with big feelings.
This is a great continuation of the series, which is ideal for readers in grade 3-6. Teaching notes are available at the publisher’s website.
Reviewed by Cherie Bell
