For lovers of the Mercy Watson series, this early-chapter book animal fantasy is just "plum" fun!

Plum is a peacock at the Athensville Zoo who takes great pride in his important work as Zoo Ambassador. It isn't every animal that gets to strut around and welcome the humans every day! Enter the antagonist, though: Itch, the snarky ningbing (an actual species!) believes HE would be a better choice for the job. What follows is a zany tale, as Itch schemes and plans to take over Plum's job. And with the help of the devious squirrels, it just might happen!

This story will be a quick, funny read-aloud with its quick action and slapstick scenes. Adults will enjoy voicing the many personalities of the animals! Strong readers in early-to-middle elementary grades will enjoy this book, too. It would be a great book club choice, with its gentle theme of accepting friends who are different.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Plum is BEYOND cute! I did find the people illustrations to be a little creepy, but animal fans will enjoy this silly chapter book.

'Leave It to Plum!' with story and illustrations by Matt Phelan is a fun chapter book about a plucky hero.

Plum lives at the zoo and is part of the free range greeting that guests get when they visit Athensville Zoo. Itch the ningbing doesn't like the peacocks and wants to take over, so he enlists some help to frame the peacocks and take over. Plum investigates and makes friends along the way.

This book made me smile and I loved the characters. Plum is really a likeable character to root for and the illustrations are great!

The story here is an easy one to follow. The writing is sparse and efficient without becoming dull and is well supported by charming illustrations. And Plum is a charming character. He's irrepressible and enthusiastic, thinking outside the box. These traits make it easy for him to get into and out of trouble. This will be a solid choice for young readers fond of animal stories.

Plum is a proud peacock. The flock serve as ambassadors for the He is also fairly nice, if oblivious to the thought that others may hate him. After all, animals are meant to get along with each other. What's wrong with making up a new greeting for them? And why should he not befriend a stray cat who roams around the zoo?
Itch lives with envy. He has a nice enclosure, but little company. Itch wants to spread his genius with the world, and shows envy that peacocks like Plum are allowed to roam freely and mingle with the guests. Rather than figure out how to spread his knowledge, Itch decides to get rid of the peacocks. He uses some squirrels to do his dirty work.
This is a sweet story, one that reminds us how we are all significant.

I tried to read this a few different times and just never clicked with it. The story is sorta cute, but the artwork is mildly freaky and not cute. I want to give it a try in hardback to see if it's better in person.

Leave It To Plum! is an adorable picture chapter book that would be perfect for older elementary students. Our protagonist is a peacock named Plum who lives as a free range bird at the Athensville Zoo. Peacocks have served as the honorary ambassadors to the zoo patrons since the zoo was founded. The peacocks take their job very seriously and being each day with Mandatory Morning Meetings where they discuss their primary duties to mingle, guide, and delight the guests. While most people and animals are happy with this arrangement, there is a ningbing named Itch who is jealous that the peacocks walk freely about while he is contained in an enclosure. Itch hatches a plan with the squirrels to frame the peacocks by stealing items from the guests and leaving a peacock feather behind as evidence. Will the peacocks be forced into a pen or possibly removed from the zoo altogether. Will Itch become the new ambassador for the Athensville Zoo?

This book is a perfect read aloud for elementary school. Students will love listening to Plum's cheerful attitude and Itch's devious plot. Although this book appears to be just for fun (and there's nothing wrong with reading a book just for fun!), there are also messages about friendship, bullying, loneliness, and embracing one's differences. I loved the story and I hope that we get to read more about the adventures of Plum (and of course, Itch) at the Athensville Zoo. Perhaps each book could continue with Plum trying to find the perfect catch phrase when he says goodbye -- I liked tick tock peacock myself!

When a small and unusual marsupial plots to take over the zoo, it's up to lovable peacock Plum and pals to save the day.

This is a fun and funny chapter book, with delightful illustrations by the author. I'm hoping it's just the first in a series of Plumish adventures.

This was a really sweet book about being different and how that is a good thing.

Plum is a peacock at the zoo, and along with all the other peacocks, is an ambassador and helps the visitors to the zoo everyday. Unfortunately, someone is V E R Y put out by all the peacock preening and sets out to change things up at the zoo. With the help of an adorable cat [who also gets a sweet happy ending], Plum sets out to help restore the order of the zoo and prove that different is good and that we can all live together in our differences.

Children of all ages will love this story and the cute illustrations and the timely lesson it tells.

Thank you to NetGalley, Matt Phelan, and HarperCollins Children's Book/Greenwillow Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Leave it to Plum, by Matt Phelan, is a fun middle grade book featuring a dreamer, who just wants to welcome everyone to the Athensville Zoo and to be one of the official ambassadors to the zoo guests. Plum comes from a long line of peacocks who take their duties seriously.

So far, all Plum has had to deal with is being late to the Mandatory Morning Meeting of the Athensville Zoo Peacocks, and enduring the glares of Hampstead, the head peacock. But things are going to get a little tougher for these colorful birds. Guests start to report missing items. Their only clue? A peacock feather. The peacocks are locked up, and only Plum managed to escape imprisonment. That means it’s up to him to solve this mystery. But can he do it before the peacocks are ridden out on a monorail?

This book was a fun read. Plum is a delightful character, and the friends he makes along the way bring the whole story to a fantastic conclusion. There were many hilarious moments where I laughed out loud. The illustrations are charming and add a lot to the story. You will also get a bonus as kids can learn about some animals that aren’t too common. I had not heard of a ningbing, which is an adorable Australian marsupial. All around, a great read to share with you kids. Enjoy!

(I received an ebook copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.)

Leave it to Plum
by Matt Phelan is the story of a "peppy purple peacock" & his trials & tribulations at the Athensville Zoo. Plum is a legacy - the however many times great grandson of the original zoo peacocks, given free wandering rights at the zoo, who are responsible for mingling, guiding & delighting the zoo's visitors. Plum's a great bird, if a little flighty (in the always late & a little scatterbrained way, not the bird way), who friends everywhere, and takes his duties - including toddler racing, selfie posing, & sign illuminating - very seriously. We also meet a grumpy ningbing named Itch, who feels like HE should be the zoo's ambassador, as opposed to those bird-brained & undeserving peacocks. With this in mind, he hatches a plot w/the squirrels to frame the peacocks & take their place.

Also, in case you were wondering, this is what a ningbing looks like.  I could see them being troublemakers. 

The book is written at an advanced early reader/beginning short chapter books level, and has enough rough, but humorous illustrations to keep things moving & to help readers at that skill level remain interested. Solving the mysteries of the zoo, while making essential new friends seems to come easily to Plum, and - in the end - his problem solving abilities save the day in more than one way. It's short, engaging & the hardest word to read in the whole book is ningbing, and that's just because it's rare enough to sound fake - my spellcheck certainly seems to have a problem with it. 4 stars

This is a hilarious tale of a peppy Peacock who loves his job as the ambassador of the zoo. When he finds something amiss in his beloved zoo, he won't rest until he solves the crime and saves the day. Clever dialogue and excellent illustrations make this a great pick for both advanced and reluctant readers. I can see this being a fun read-aloud to a K-3 grade classroom, too. Plus, there are super interesting animal factoids thrown in to boot! Highly recommended!

This is a peppy adventurous romp in which the mystery is no mystery (other than why perfectly nice squirrels would align themselves with the villain against the unsuspecting peacocks. ) The eponymous Plum is plucky and positive, perhaps more so than his peacock brethren and peafowl sisters. His sterling qualities along with a friendship struck up with a new and lonely zookeeper position him such to eventually save the day.

Such a fascinating story! I read this with my 7 year old son, we were both so interested to see how the story played out. I love the meaning behind it to work together and attribute as a team. This was a cute kid story! Would highly recommend for a fun, new age story!

This one is cute. The peacocks seem to run the zoo. It's not my favorite Matt Phelan but it's a good first chapter book for young readers.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

This is just so adorable! Plum is so plucky and brave and kind, and the book itself is very relatable. The dialogue is very well written and sounds childlike but true. I loved the personalities of the animals and how their voices reflected their species. The illustrations were incredibly expressive and charming. Highly recommend as a starter chapter book, with plenty of pictures to help emergent readers.

The Athensville Zoo has a long tradition--since the first owner/zookeeper's pet--of having free-range peacocks as ambassadors. They greet guests, pose for photos, and chat with the other animals.

But, sometimes people get set in their ways, grumble, and question whether so much freedom is really worth the trouble.

Plum is a bright, cheerful, and peppy peacock. He speaks up with ideas, arrives at morning meetings juuuust barely on time, and annoys the elder leader.

Fortunately for everyone, Plum is also very friendly, outgoing, and a loyal friend. They will soon depend on his detective skills and bright nature to save the entire flock!

This story is cheerful, delightful, and fun. I could almost picture Plum skipping his way from one friend to another, greeting and well-wishing. And he helped improve several lives, just because he cared!

A wonderful story of friendship, hope, and not giving up. This story is for all ages, including young children, teens, and adults. (Great as gifts with a personalized note!) *We all dislike fake cheerfulness, but true caring like Plum's, melts our defenses and opens us up to a better life!

5/5 Stars Highly recommended!

Thanks to Harper Collins Children's Books and NetGalley for the preview of this in ebook form; the review is voluntary.

#LeaveIttoPlum #NetGalley

As a middle school librarian, my kiddos and I enjoy many Matt Phelan books. I knew this book was aimed at “young middle grade” so not my target audience, but it still confused me a bit. It was longer than I expected for a 3-4 grade book and I felt like the humor could have been appreciated by older kids. The artwork wasn’t what I expect from Phelan, but that could have been the ARC. Overall, “Leave it to Plum” is still an adorable story best read by elementary readers.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This book is about Plum who lives in the zoo and takes the reader around. Cute stories, but longer than I thought it would be.