Worst in Show

A laugh-out-loud young middle grade animal caper about a hapless ferret who decides to prove himself to his furry crime family by foiling a plot to sabotage the Baskerville Dog Show--from the author of the Horace & Bunwinkle series. Perfect for fans of A Boy Called Bat and Wedgie & Gizmo!

Fil Furetto is a terrible criminal. He can't pick a lock or crack a safe, and he's hardly menacing. The only things he's good at are cooking and watching over the arena his crime family calls home. But then he stumbles upon a mysterious message: Someone is planning to sabotage the frontrunner at the arena's next big event, The Baskerville Dog Show. Fil's Uncle Sal is furious--no one does criminal acts under the Furettos' roof without his say so!--and tasks Fil with making sure nothing nefarious goes down on their turf.

Dot Hernandez is a Corgi with a vision. Win the Baskerville, collect the prize money, and finally launch her designer doggy fashion line. So when a scrawny ferret shows up with a warning that someone is trying to take her out of the competition, she's skeptical.

But as mysterious mishaps befall her, Dot is forced to admit there's something fishy at the dog show, and she agrees to team up with Fil to find the culprit. Is it a canine competitor? One of their human trainers? Or an old enemy out to ruin the Furettos? Only one thing seems certain: if they don't figure it out, both Dot's fashion dreams and Fil's family could be in danger.

PJ Gardner is the author of the middle grade Horace & Bunwinkle series. She lives in Southern California with her husband and sons as well as her Boston terriers, Rosie and Rocky. Visit her at pjgardnerswitzer.com.

Tim Jessell is an artist, whose work has been recognized in many leading design competitions, including Communication Arts; Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibitions, receiving the Society's Gold Medal award; Addys (local, regional, and national); Graphex; and Adweek Magazine, receiving Illustrator of the Year. Jessell wrote and illustrated his first picture book in 1994, Amorak, published by Creative Editions.