The Pepins and Their Problems

Sylvia Pantaleo is an associate professor of education, specializing in
children’s literature, at the University of Victoria. She is the
co-author of Learning with Literature in the Canadian Elementary
Classroom.

Mr. and Mrs. Pepin, along with their children, Petunia and Irving, pet
dog, Roy, and pet cat, Miranda, live in a suburban neighbourhood. The
family pets are most unusual in that they are able to talk, and on
occasion they embark on flights in various aerial contraptions. The
Pepins’ neighbour Mr. Bradshaw is like a family member, because he is
always involved in the misfortunes that befall the Pepins—and there
are many. One problem is that they have toads in their shoes. Other
Pepin problems include being trapped on a roof, having their cow give
lemonade, finding a country that will accept Mrs. Pepin as its monarch,
and disappearing cutlery.

Horvath has the mysterious ability to hear the thoughts of readers
throughout Canada, and each time the Pepins encounter a new problem, she
asks readers to send their solutions to her on the “airwaves.”
Readers from such locations as Meander River, B.C., Come By Chance,
Newfoundland, Kitchener, Ontario, and Paddle Prairie, Alberta,
telepathically communicate their suggestions to Horvath, and she uses
some of these ideas to assist the Pepins in solving their problems.

Horvath seems to be aiming for silliness, and although the interactive
and metafictive nature of the book is initially interesting, the
formulaic nature of the plot structure quickly becomes monotonous. In
order for Horvath’s interactive narrative to work, readers need to be
engaged with the characters, and interested in and challenged by the
Pepins’ problems, but the book fails to generate such reader
involvement. Not recommended.