Antoinette is probably more a 2.5 than a three. There is something missing for me. Plus, the illustrations and I just are not meshing as I would have liked.
Kelly DiPucchio is the author of the companion book Gaston as well as this one. If you do not know who Gaston is, that is fine. His story is told as needed to fit Antoinette’s story. However, you do not necessarily need to know who he was. But, of course, it does not hurt to have read that one as well. The theme of, “everyone has a talent” has been done before, but still this time it is a fun story. Antoinette is a poodle in a bulldog family (Gaston was a bulldog in a poodle family) and one day while Gaston’s and Antoinette’s families are playing, one of Gaston’s sisters (Ooh-la-la) runs off. It is up to the siblings to try and find her, but who is brave enough when things get a little dangerous!
The art of Christian Robinson is almost abstract and that could be awkward at times. The colors are muted, but not washed out. They have a classical feel to them. There are details as needed, but not overly done.
The adoption aspect of the story is not touched on. This is interesting as it shows that they are all family regardless of their looks. And the ending is a big rushed: they are in the park playing, they have their adventure but then suddenly Antoinette and Gaston are married, have pups of their own and she is the best police dog in the city. Ages 5 and up would most likely be the best audience, but the right audience could come from anyplace.