This third Penelope book by author-illustrator duo Sheri Radford and Christine Tripp catches up with the exuberant and capricious girl on the day of her birthday party. All three Penelope titles involve a familiar childhood scenario, one that soon spins out of control. This time, a party overstuffed with kids, circus performers, monkeys, and an elephant demonstrates children’s insatiable appetite for “what if?” and fun on a grand scale.

While the stories are set in straight prose, Penelope is a character firmly in the tradition of the Eloises and Jillian Jiggses of the more giddy, rhyming kidlit landscape (with maybe more than a little Munsch thrown in), with the added appeal and support of Christine Tripp’s kinetic and vividly drawn watercolour scenes. The story moves from the first guest’s arrival through the mounting frustration of Penelope’s parents as the guest list expands both in number and absurdity. As in previous tales, Penelope’s hijinks pull young readers in, but also include a gentle lesson. Penelope’s misadventures here are intended to teach children to manage the occasional grandiosity of childhood expectations and make peace with a life lived within the realm of the reasonable and non-preposterous.

Young readers will enjoy and respond to the familiarity of the incremental build of the narrative and will anticipate upcoming scenes. The story is predictable and very simply told; however, the accessibility and familiarity of the whole package is conducive to inevitable retelling.