Ella and Olivia : Puppy Trouble by Yvette Poshoglian

Ill. by Danielle McDonald. Scholastic Australia, 2013. ISBN 9781742836577.
The Ella and Olivia series has proven popular with younger girls as an introduction to chapter books. They reflect the issues and interests of girls in the 5-7 age group.
The main characters are Ella, who is in year 2 and Olivia her younger sister who has just begun school. The series follows their everyday adventures at school and at home.
Puppy Trouble follows their journey as the family adopts a new puppy, from choosing him at the pet shop to the realisation that as cute as the puppy is there is a whole new level of the responsibility that comes with pet ownership. Bob, the pup, is not as easy to look after as the girls think. Typically he wrecks havoc in the house and runs away as they take him for a walk.
Written in the present tense, the larger font size is supportive of the early independent reader. Whilst the chapters are of a reasonable length the line drawings and embellishments as well as wide paragraph spacing make the pages of text look less daunting.
Ella and Olivia books are a good follow on for those girls who have read the Billie B Brown books and are looking for something else in a similar vein.
Sue Keane