Hannah and Sugar by Kate Berube

Every day Hannah gets off the bus. Every day her father is waiting for her. Every day Sugar is waiting for Violet P. Sugar is a dog and Hannah does not like dogs! No matter how often Mrs. P. asks if Hannah wants to pet Sugar, no matter how well-behaved she is, Hannah is just too scared.

But then Sugar goes missing. Hannah starts thinking about what it must feel like to be lost, alone and scared and when she finds Sugar she decides to face her fears.

I'm not usually a fan of watercolors, but I love Berube's gentle, scribbly colors and designs. This is a sweet story of a girl overcoming her fear to help someone else. However, the ending of the story didn't click for me. Why didn't anyone else hear Sugar stuck in the bushes? Even more worrying, although Hannah does hold out her hand first, approaching a trapped animal is never a good idea. They were right by her front door - why didn't she call her dad? Why the necessity to comfort Sugar?

Verdict: The story starts out well and I love the illustrations but I just can't get over the ending or suspend my disbelief. I'll look forward to more books from this author though.

ISBN 9781419718908; Published 2016 by Abrams; Borrowed from another library in my consortium