What happens when a little lie grows and grows out of your control? Jo finds out pretty quickly in Pawcasso. The story is action packed with lots of heart. I loved Jo's creativity and her attitude. I'm not a dog lover myself so I appreciated the nuance with which the leash discussion and how it makes different people feel. Readers will root for Jo, for Pawcasso, and for the whole community. This will be a great summertime read!

In this charming tale Jo has to learn that friendship matters and that there can be more than 2 sides to a story. Through her relationship with a neighborhood dog Jo develops lasting friendships, learns about compromise and how lying can get you into trouble. The artwork is bright and colorful with eyecatching action. It is refreshing that the animal characters act naturally. This title will have broad kid appeal.

Pawcasso by Remy Lai
The Chihuahua-sized fib that grew into a Great Dane lie.
From the imagination of Lai comes Pawcasso, a graphic novel about a dog, art, and honesty.
​Hoping to escape the confines of a large family, Joanna Lin steps outdoors and discovers a most unusual sight. A basket-bearing dog is heading into town. Intrigued, Jo follows.
​She learns that this pup is on a mission. The basket contains a list of items that the dog is expected to procure from local businesses.
​Things get complicated when the dog enters Dog Ears, the local book shop. Jo discovers an kid's art class is in session. Young students are thrilled with the appearance of a friendly pup. This is a much more exciting model that an inert pear. They assume that Jo is the dog's owner and ask permission to sketch, paint, and sculpt the canine.
When the shop offers free books in exchange for using the dog as a model, Jo pretends to be the owner and agrees to the terms. In honor of their interest in art, the kids name their remarkable model Pawcasso.
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Then Jo learns that the art workshop will continue for five more weeks and culminate in a special art show. She worries. Who is the dog’s owner and where does it live? How can she get the dog to come to Dog Ears with her every week? ​
To make matters worse, neighbors are concerned that a dog is wandering through town without a leash. The city is divided into two camps: those supporting strict enforcement of leash laws and those that want to make an exception for this endearing animal. Finally, Jo meet's Picasso's owners and confesses her deception. With a little help, Jo brings the opposing factions together to solve the leash law dilemma. She also heals a rift in a neighbor’s family and comes to terms with her father’s work-related absence. Bonus: There is ice cream for everyone!
A surefire hit for fans of mysteries, poop jokes, adorable dogs, and happy endings.
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Lai packs her graphic novel with plenty of goodies.
*Inventive word play: Pawcasso (canine version of the artist Picasso) Dog Ears (bookstore), Drippy Cone (ice cream shop) and Dippy (short for serendipity)
*Contemporary artists Picasso and Marcel Duchamp
*An ice cream recipe that is suitable for dogs and "hoomans”

*coughs lightly* why yes, I might've read this in one sitting. If the vibrant colors don't pull you in, the puns (truly, some top-tier puns), the furry friends, and the heart so clearly shown in this story will.

I loved the premise of Pawcasso! That and a healthy dose of boredom (I read this in March when the release date wasn't until mid-May…) gave me the brillant idea to start reading. I didn't realize that I had gobbled up the graphic novel. I thought i was so funny that Pawcasso (the dog) was so famous in the town. I mean, I don't blame the people in the town because if I saw a dog grocery shopping by itself, I would be quite impressed as well.

However, there is a mystery element: who is Pawcasso's owner? No one has seen this dog with another human. That is, until Jo somehow finds herself next to him, and then the town start assuming that she is Pawcasso's owner. I was curious about how this misunderstanding/white lies would be resolved, and, honestly, I don't think I could've guessed the ending. Pawcasso considers love and hate; heart and mind; and family, of course.

Naturally, since this is a Remy Lai story, there were so many hard hitting quotes. As much as I wanted to breeze through Pawcasso, there were definitely times when I had to sit back and just absorb what was going on and what was just said. How was it connected to the rest of the story? The larger ideas Remy might've been thinking about while writing and illustrating the story?

Other things I loved: the facial expressions. Remy captures the emotions perfectly, and dives right into these feelings. Memorable expressions were when Jo finds herself starting to weave a web of lies and she needs to dodge questions. Her panic is relatable.

I also really enjoyed the clever art references, since Pawcasso is clearly significantly inspired by art (see: "Pawcasso").

Conclusion: Highly recommend! If you love graphic novels, dogs, bright art styles, heartwarming stories, books centering around family, close neighborhood feels, then Pawcasso might be something to check out! It was quite pawtastic, if you ask me :).

If you have followed me for awhile, then you will know that I love everything that Remy Lai has written. From her tender and hilarious story about cakes and grief to her fun and poignant story about family and flying, Remy’s stories are undeniably full of heart and humour. I’m delighted to share that Remy’s latest book, Pawcasso, her new middle-grade graphic novel, is no exception!

Pawcasso follows Jo, a Chinese girl who is a little lonely. One day, when she spots a basket-toting dog who does his family’s grocery shopping, in a series of shenanigans and misunderstandings, Jo finds herself to be the mistaken owner of the dog – now named Pawcasso. When Pawcasso and Jo’s antics almost hand Pawcasso in the pound, the town soon becomes divided about whether Pawcasso should be able to roam free – and the conflict may expose Jo’s lies.

While both Pie in the Sky and Fly on the Wall were told in prose with illustrations, Pawcasso is a full graphic novel, which I absolutely adored reading. Remy’s illustrations were wonderful. One of my favourite things about Remy’s illustrations is how she conveys emotions and humour in her character’s facial expressions, especially when something takes the character by surprise. With Pawcasso’s antics and Jo constantly staying on her toes to avoid being caught in her lie, Remy’s soulful art conveys the silliness, fun and warm-hearted humour in her characters’ expressions – even Pawcasso’s!

The story is just as delightful as the art. For what starts as a little misunderstanding, despite Jo’s best efforts to tell the truth, Jo finds herself invested in an innocent lie. What I loved about Pawcasso was, with its fun and gentle storytelling, explores that lies are not always intentional but they can have consequences that we may not be able to handle, and how lies can have ripple effects. Ultimately, the story culminates into a debate about whether dogs should be able to roam free or not without a leash or not. I was in awe of how this debate was handled – presenting both sides fairly and exploring the implications of both – and I think the story provides an excellent lesson on the importance of being responsible. In saying that though, the shenanigans and antics are so much fun to watch and they will undoubtedly delight readers of any ages. The resolution of the story is also tender-hearted and lovely.

Though there is a lot of fun in Pawcasso’s story (and true to Remy’s books!), there is so much emotional depth as well. Readers will relate to Jo’s loneliness – how she has little friends, struggles as a middle child to young twins and an older teenage sibling, how her father is rarely ever home – and how she finds so much joy in finding new friends and finding her corner of belonging and community. I also loved that Pawcasso is definitely a story that explores and celebrates community – that everyone is different and may not always agree with one another, but with mutual respect and understanding can come together as well.

At its heart, Pawcasso is about kindness and how everyone, especially the people whom we make assumptions about, are deserving of compassion. I thought this was a beautiful message, and how Pawcasso explores this through dog ownership and how much we can love our pets was so profound and lovely. I could feel the love that Remy has for her lovely dogs through this story.

Pawcasso is guaranteed to be a fun and delightful read for dog-lovers and non-dog-lovers alike! Brimming with so much heart, humour, and compassion, Pawcasso is a wonderful showcase of Remy’s art and storytelling skill. Once again, I cannot wait to read what she writes and draws next.

I received an electronic ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Lai's artistic illustrations and gentle writing styles shine in her latest book. Readers meet Jo as she begins a lonely summer break. Then, she starts watching and following a dog who does its own shopping complete with list, money and basket to hold the purchases. From there, she gets lost in a series of lies when she pretends the dog is hers. At first, she's happy to have friends and belong but the summer gets more and more complicated as the entire town becomes involved in leash laws and fan clubbing Pawcasso.
Lai teaches some valuable lessons under the humor. The whole question about love and hate should generate thoughts and discussion for middle grade readers. They will also find themselves somewhere in this story as they connect with parents far from home; wanting to belong; afraid to reach out, and so on.
My readers will appreciate this latest book and I won't be able to keep it on the shelf.

This is a fun graphic novel about a dog. The mysteriousness of where the dog comes from/who it belongs to will hook readers right from the start. Students will love Pawcasso's independence! My students always clamor for dog books and graphic novels. This is the perfect combination and will be popular in my school library!

So cute! I laughed at the protagonist getting more and more exasperated as she got deeper into her lie. A great mix between silly and serious problems. Lots of complex feelings for a fairly quick read.

A relatable story about how one lie can snowball, and the longer you let it go uncorrected, the harder it is to tell the truth. Kids will love the adorable dog on the cover.

A wonderfully engaging story of fitting in, community, and how one allowing one little mistake to slide can lead to a world of trouble.

Joanna Lin is at loose ends over summer break, until an affectionate, spirited dog enters the picture. Every Saturday, “Pawcasso” journeys into town to do his unknown owner’s shopping with the help of a basket and a shopping list. Some of the neighborhood kids mistakenly get the idea that the dog belongs to Jo, and suddenly they are both the center of attention, especially during art class at the Dog Ears bookstore. Can she clear up the confusion without losing her newfound friends? 🐶 Read this sunny, charming, sometimes wistful graphic novel to find out! And stick around for the canine-friendly ice cream recipe at the end!

Upset that her father is going away again on business, Jo discovers a "shopping dog" which she lets other kids believe is her dog. With Pawcasso by her side, Jo now has friends and is interested in art class and reading group. When her non-ownership of Pawcasso is revealed, Jo again finds herself lonely, just like old Mr. Iccc who has led the petition to have Pawcasso removed from roaming the streets unleashed. Some quick thinking allows Jo to find a solution to bring the divided town together and save the friendships she has made. Although her father will still be away from home on business quite a lot, Jo feels better connected to him after he helps her find the solution to the Pawcasso situation. Dog lovers will eat this up faster than a bowl of doggie ice-cream!

Another fantastic graphic novel that I book talked with my students as soon as I finished it. 11-year-old Jo is in town and sees a dog toting around a basket. She becomes curious...
Where did this dog come from?
Where is its owner?
Why does it have a basket?
How is it casually shopping in town?
As she is trying to track down the dog to figure out what is going on, a group of kids assume that the dog is hers. She can't deny it because she is dumbstruck! Soon enough, the whole town is in love with the dog charmingly named Pawcasso. Jo, however, is feeling anxious. She didn't mean for this to happen, and she just wishes she can figure out where this dog is bringing all of these groceries. This was a wonderful graphic novel from Lai and now I wish my dogs could go to the grocery store for me! I’m eager to read Lai’s other books since this was my first.

This book was so stinking cute. I loved the message of friendship, loving from the heart, how past hurt can fuel present hate, and finding friends in times of solitude. The illustrations were excellent, the emotive faces and hilarious dialogue were also so great. This is an excellent elementary school book for independent reading and for a read aloud as well!

A sweet graphic novel about friendship and little white lies and dogs. I enjoyed reading this thoroughly, loving all the characters and the story was cute.

Delightful story of art, dogs, friendship, and community! Loved the artwork--kids are going to love Pawcasso!

Interesting storyline, someone looking for a friend and finding a dog. When Jo finds that it is summer, and she is alone with nothing to do, she begins to follow a dog she sees wandering in the neighborhood with a basket. What starts as a small misunderstanding, snowballs into something bigger where soon the safety of Pawcasso is at stake. Well thought out, relevant themes, would be entertaining for a young reader.

Poor Jo seems to spend every waking moment terrified that people will find out she is not really Pawcasso's owner. Kids will sympathize with Jo, who finds events quickly spiraling out of control to the point where she can't even enjoy time with her usually-absent dad.. Pawcasso is adorable, and Jo's facial expressions are hilarious. The town's adults dividing into two factions over Pawcasso seems quite realistic given the current state of our society.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Kara and Alice have been friends for years, and enjoy reenacting episodes from their favorite show, Shinpi Riders. (Not a real show, as far as I can tell.) When Alice has to move right before middle school starts, Kara is devastated, and when Alice doesn't answer her phone calls, she is inconsolable. She decides to skip the first day of school and ride her bike to Alice's town so that the two of them can catch up, and she can bring Alice back with her if she is unhappy. Along with her ferret, Gidget, Kara starts off, ignoring calls from her mother and using the GPS on her phone until the battery runs out. There are some fun adventures, like helping a boy set up a farm stall and helping a woman whose store was ransacked by a runaway deer, but there are also lots of problems. At one point, she is asleep in an abandoned car when a park ranger finds her and gives her a meal, has her call home, and offers to drive her. Since she hasn't made it to Alice's school yet, she runs away. At the school, the interaction doesn't go well, and she goes to Alice's house, where it isn't any better. Alice has not been happy with the friendship for a long time, and is tired of Shinpi Riders and of always having to do what Kara wants. When Kara starts at her new school, will she be able to find new friends, and will she eventually heal her rift with Alice?
Strengths: It's hard to go wrong with a book about middle grade friendship problems, and young readers often have very strong feelings about certain books or shows (Warriors fans, anyone?).It's good to see this struggle played out between Kara and Alice. The adventure is fun, and I can't think of any other books featuring ferrets. Bonus points for making their own Shinpi Riders masks.
Weaknesses: Kara bikes around the countryside without anyone knowing where she is, with a ferret, and without a helmet! There are so, so many dangerous things that Kara does that I was really irritated as a parent, although young readers will just think about the adventure. I found Kara annoying.
What I really think: The lack of bike helmet, along with the flowing scarf that is bound to get caught in the tires, causing a bad injury (think Edna St. Vincent Millay!) really bothered me. If I have extra money next year, I may purchase.

Jo is a lonely girl whose father is working overseas for long periods of time. She also finds it difficult to make friends. One day while staring out her window, she sees a dog with a basket and no human nearby. She runs out the door to follow the dog. She witnesses the dog go to each shop around the square with a list in the basket and shop. She follows the dog to a bookstore where an art class is taking place. Everyone assumes Jo is the dog's owner, and she isn't able to speak up for herself to contradict them. Her lie eventually gets out of control.