Pluto Gets the Call

K-Gr 3–This informational picture book takes readers on an imaginative journey through the universe. Pluto, a small and good-natured fellow, receives a call with disheartening news. Scientists from Earth inform him that he is no longer a planet; from now on, he will be considered the solar systems’s largest ice dwarf. Pluto cannot believe it! He decides to show readers around, introducing each planet and their unique features. Rex’s humorous narrative matches factual data with a jocose plot. Readers will learn about the Kuiper Belt, the Asteroid Belt, ice giants, Saturn’s rings, and Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, among other facts. Keller’s illustrations delineate thei planets’ fictional personalities with expressive gestures that enhance the whimsical text. This creative picture book could be used in a read-along activity for a second grade science unit covering the solar system, or in a storytime about self-acceptance and individual differences.