The Puppet Wrangler

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.

When Telly Mercer’s older sister takes a school bus loaded with
children for a joy ride, Telly’s parents decide that it’s finally
time to reform their juvenile-delinquent daughter (with the long rap
sheet). Thus, 12-year-old Telly is sent to Toronto to spend the summer
with her Aunt Kathleen, who is the producer of a children’s television
puppet show called Bitsie ’n’ Bytesie. One of the puppets, Bitsie,
is alive and befriends the quiet and shy Telly. The duo make several
excursions to the mall but the puppet’s mischievous nature results in
Telly becoming involved in some embarrassing situations. Telly and
Bitsie busk in downtown Toronto to earn money so that they can travel by
Greyhound to meet Arnold Van Gurp, a man who supposedly has puppets that
are also alive. Of course Van Gurp’s puppets are just puppets, but he
is fascinated by Bitsie and detains Telly and Bitsie against their will.
After they escape, Telly generates a plan that allows her to pay for the
construction of a new Bitsie puppet, to keep the living Bitsie puppet,
and to assist her Aunt Kathleen with her career.

Telly, who narrates the story, includes several footnotes that serve as
ancillary comments or further information about particular situations.
The plot is derived of contrived events and often the slapstick-like
humour is forced. Characters tell falsehoods and engage in unsafe
actions without any realistic consequences. The stock characters and the
happily-ever-after ending are predictable and formulaic. Not
recommended.