Pet Tales
Eleven-year-old Penny Maxwell has anxiety and hates it. It stops her from speaking up in class and making friends, and sometimes even causes embarrassing panic attacks at the worst possible moments.
Rather than hanging out with other kids after school, Penny volunteers at the local animal shelter, where, surrounded by furry friends, she feels like she can be herself. While tending to the rescued pets, Penny has been secretly writing fanciful backstories for all of them, but hasn’t shared the tales with anyone—and never would.
But when her beloved safe space is suddenly under threat of shutting down, sharing her stories might just be the only solution, at least according to Ada, a precocious new friend who hatches a genius scheme to save the shelter. Can Penny find the courage to face her anxiety and overcome her fears in time?
By Heidi Tattrie Rushton
APRIL 2024 | ISBN 978-1-7775549-9-6 / FICTION / MIDDLE GRADE / COVER ILLUSTRATION BY HELAH COOPER / 192 PAGES / 5.35 × 8 IN / PAPERBACK
EVENTS
Woozles (Halifax) – May 14, 6:30pm (with special guest Dee the therapy dog!
Block Shop Books (Lunenburg) – May 18, 2pm
EXCERPT
“That cat was in space?” She heard someone gasp behind her, and Penny shrieked in surprise and jumped up, bumping Click over in the process. He gave her his grumpy look, and then rubbed against her legs so she knew he was fine.
Penny turned to see an older woman with short, grey hair staring at her in amusement through the open window into the cat playroom. Penny stuttered, “No, sorry, it was just a story I made up.”
The lady chuckled. “Well, it certainly piqued my interest in this fellow. If any cat was an astronaut, it certainly would be this gentleman. Is he a friendly cat?”
Penny really didn’t enjoy talking to customers. They made her super nervous and her body started doing things out of her control, like shaking or sweating or making her feel dizzy. Right now, her eyes were darting around, and she felt lightheaded. She tried to remind herself to breathe in slowly and deeply, right down to the bottom of her belly, but her heart kept pounding louder and louder, and her breath became very fast.
The older lady was looking concerned. “Are you okay, dear?”
Penny couldn’t answer. She wanted to leave, but her feet didn’t seem to work and her legs felt weak. She looked frantically around her, needing to escape but unable to figure out how.
“Excuse me! Hello? Can I get some help over here?” she heard the woman call out across the store, as Penny gasped for breath, and then everything became fuzzy.