Secrets, Secret Service, and Room Service

May 1, 2014

Gr 3-6-It has been months since Benji Barnsworth watched the Secret Service drive away with Elvis, the 200-pound Newfoundland therapy dog originally intended for the president, but who was delivered to Benji by mistake. Ripley, his new therapy dog, is fine, but he doesn't talk. Benji misses Elvis, so he and friends Taisy and Alexander keep tabs on Elvis online. Benji notices that Elvis looks a bit strange during one presidential speech, and he realizes that Elvis is sending a coded message with his tail-he needs help. The group of friends must get to Washington, DC, and rescue Elvis. It's easy enough to suspend disbelief and embrace a talking dog. The idea of two erroneously-delivered therapy dogs is a stretch, but when one recipient is the President of the United States, credulity strains. Benji's winning voice and his madcap antics charmed in the first installment, but the sequel doesn't hold up as well and feels overly long. While it is unlikely that many middle-grade readers will be familiar with White House protocol and security measures, some may have a hard time buying the ease with which Benji and his pals not only get to DC, but gain access to the White House. The narrator is a sweet and earnest character, if a bit self-aware. The adults are little more than clueless props, while the action is over-the-top slapstick.-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ

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