I feel a bit sad that Pimpão did not make more of an effort to persuade his new friends to find Tobias at school. Instead, and at Sylvester's advice, he agrees to visit the friendly animal shelter, thereby risking never seeing Tobias again. Luckily, all turns out well.
Susana Machado cleverly uses her knowledge of cats and dogs in general, and of street animals and their plight in particular, to create a heartwarming story of friendship, survival, and duty, that kids can easily identify with. In the end, even Sylvester, with a little help from his lady friend, Estrella, understands it may be best to get “the snip” as long as his freedom is not impaired for too long. After all, he is way too old and streetwise to change his ways now. Just how uncomfortable can a little earring be?
Loved it!
As I am the lucky owner of, amongst other animals, 14 street dogs, and 1 street cat called Pipoca, the picture storybook Pimpão immediately appealed to me. Written by Susana Machado. Illustrated by Tania Silva. Foreword by Ana Galvão. The proceeds from sales of this book go towards helping street dogs in Portugal. Available in Portuguese.
Corine Timmer, 26th June 2016