Pretty Minnie in Paris

Minnie, Steel’s “teacup-size” Chihuahua that inspired her 2013 memoir, Pure Joy: The Dogs We Love, is the star of this sugary story. Minnie accompanies her owner, a Parisian girl named Françoise, everywhere: to ballet class, where Minnie performs at the barre in a tutu, and to a bistro, where she perches on pillows to dine at table with Françoise and her fashion-designer mother. Minnie fares less well at her first fashion show: overcome by the crowds and the excitement, she leaps from Françoise’s lap and takes refuge backstage. When Minnie follows a model down the runway, the woman scoops her up and both pose for photos before Minnie is reunited with Françoise. The story line is quite thin and Steel’s prose underwhelming (“After the show, Françoise told her mother what had happened—and she was happy to see Minnie too”), though Valiant (Penguin Cha-Cha) runs with the fashion-forward theme, showcasing Paris’s landmarks and scenes of couture clothing that will delight young fashionistas. Ages 3–7. Author’s agency: Janklow & Nesbit. Illustrator’s agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (Oct.)