Pets on Parade is the 6th book in the Nancy Drew Clue Book series. This ALADDIN Book was published in October, 2016 by Simon & Schuster.
Back of the Book Summary:
A costume catastrophe!
The Scene: The Howl-a-ween Pet Parade.
The Facts: Nancy’s dog, Chip, wins the pet costume contest and gets to lead the annual Howl-a-ween Pet Parade!
The Crime: Chip’s vampire costume is making him act very strange! Is someone–or something–trying to ruin Chip’s big day?
The Suspects:
- Deidre, who really wanted her dog, Princess Pom-Pom, to win the contest
- Felipe Gomez, dog-training superstar
- The ghost of Murray the Monster Mutt–Nancy’s not one for believing in ghost stories, but sometimes you have to trust your instincts….right?
The Mission: It’s up to the Clue Crew–and you–to figure out what’s haunting Chip!
Review:
Nancy, accompanied with her friends Bess and George enter Nancy’s dog in the pet costume contest. The winner, chosen by good behavior and costume by a panel of judges, will get to lead the fall parade. When Nancy’s dog, Chocolate Chip wins, a few people are upset. Just before the parade begins, Chocolate Chip starts acting up and is then replaced by another dog to lead the parade. The girls investigate what caused the chocolate lab puppy’s misbehavior and who could have influenced her.
The investigation leads the Clue Crew to snoop a farm, sneak into a supposedly haunted house (a filming location for the Murray the Monster Mutt TV show), and snoop a friend’s bedroom for clues. While Nancy narrows in on some clues, the full reason for Chocolate Chip’s costume catastrophe is a great reveal at the end. There is also a wonderful surprise for the girls about the Murray the Monster Mutt show.
While there are a few snooty moments from both Deirdre Shannon and George Fayne, the girls behavior was not terribly bad. I found this story to be quite pleasant and at moments, really cute. Even though the story is set near Halloween, very little is mentioned about the holiday, but rather alludes to it.
Nancy Drew Canon Observations:
Bess Marvin and George Fayne are mentioned to be cousins.
Hannah Gruen is mentioned as the housekeeper who is more like a mother to Nancy since Nancy was 3 years old.
Bess is described as having long blonde hair and likes girly clothes.
It is mentioned that George is her nickname, but her real name is Georgia. She is described as having dark hair, and she likes comfortable clothes and electronics.
In this book, Bess has a baby sister.
George Fayne’s mom is a caterer.
Members of Nancy, Bess, and George’s third grade class includes Quincy Taylor.
Nancy, Bess, and George started their own detective club called the Clue Crew. Nancy keeps a Clue Book where she keeps her notes.
Deirdre Shannon writes a blog, and she has a bichon frise dog named Princess Pom-Pom.
Extra Notes:
Cover illustration by Peter Francis. Cover design by Karina Granda.
For ages 6-9
Length: 88 pages in the main story (more with the title page, series lists, and ads).
The last page of the book features and ad for HeR Interactive, Inc.’s Codes & Clues mobile game.
