Penny Lee and Her TV

If you think your kid has a serious TV addiction, you haven't met Penny Lee. Not only does this girl have 300 favorite shows (including Pinky Poodle's Pool Party and Puppy Puppet's Playhouse), even her dreams have commercial breaks. (Of course, the fact that she sleeps on top of the TV set can't help.)

One morning, Penny wakes up to find the screen cold and dark. "She tried the remote. She shook the TV, but nothing happened. 'Help!' Penny Lee yelled. 'Call 911! Call the fire department! Call the National Guard!'" Fortunately for her, she's got a faithful canine who--not coincidentally, we find out later--has been looking for the chance to get more attention from his owner. Floppy-eared Mr. Barkley helps Penny Lee transport her set to the repair shop, but along the way the two (well, three, including the TV) find all sorts of opportunities for fun: playing hide-and-seek, skipping rope (or power cord, in this case), cloud-watching, even fishing. Could Penny possibly have found a life outside of TV? It's too soon to tell, but "that night, when Penny fell asleep, her dreams were commercial free."

Glenn McCoy puts his newspaper-comic skills to good use here, with an animated pigtailed Penny and excellent expressions from poor, long-suffering Mr. Barkley. (Readers will recognize his style from editorial cartoons in The New York Times and USA Today, or, more famously, his strip The Duplex.) McCoy's storytelling talent might not quite be up to this longer format yet, but he makes a respectable first showing. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes