Jean Philippe Arrou-Vignod (text)
Olivier Tallec (illustrations)
(Zero to Ten)

It’s Rita’s birthday today and she is feeling a bit grumpy. She doesn’t like any of her presents; they are either too small too big or too … middle-sized: she doesn’t know where to start …. until one starts leaping! Inside she finds a little dog who doesn’t not liked to be bossed about! After a lot of chasing about, the dog settles down and Rita struggles to come up with a name that suits him. She finally settles for Whatsit and the dog’s reaction surprises Rita. This is the first book of the adventures of this absolutely fantastic duo. Rita is very bossy an determined, and her dog-with-no-name is cool as cucumber and very philosophical. It has been incredibly popular in its native France and it is easy to see why: Tallec’s minimalistic illustrations compliment perfectly Arrou-Vignod’s humorous text.

Other titles in the series include: Rita and Whatsit at School, Rita and Whatsit at the Beach, Christmas with Rita and Whatsit , Rita and Whatsit at the Beach and Rita and Whatsit’s New Friend.

A great little series which well worth discovering!

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