Pet Tales

by Heidi Tattrie Rushton

Eleven-year-old Penny Maxwell has anxiety and hates it. It stops her from speaking up in class and making friends, and sometimes even causes embarrassing panic attacks at the worst possible moments.

Rather than hanging out with other kids after school, Penny volunteers at the local animal shelter, where, surrounded by furry friends, she feels like she can be herself. While tending to the rescued pets, Penny has been secretly writing fanciful backstories for all of them, but hasn’t shared the tales with anyone—and never would.

But when her beloved safe space is suddenly under threat of shutting down, sharing her stories might just be the only solution, at least according to Ada, a precocious new friend who hatches a genius scheme to save the shelter. Can Penny find the courage to face her anxiety and overcome her fears in time?

Genres: Middle Grade, Canada

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 16, 2024

About the author

Heidi Tattrie Rushton has been a freelance reporter, social media manager, international recruiter, and playground leader. She also has experience working at an animal shelter, was a kid-activist through her writing, and rides the roller coaster of life with anxiety.

PET TALES is nominated for a 2024-2025 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award and in 2021, an excerpt from this novel fetched the WFNS Joyce Barkhouse Writing Prize.She holds a Bachelor of Recreation, Diploma in Early Childhood Education, and a Master of Education and a Veterinary Assistance diploma.

She also write romance/women's fiction books under Heidi Tattrie. Her debut novel is a holiday romance set in Nova Scotia called GOOD FOR GOODNESS' SAKE.

She calls Fall River, Nova Scotia, home, along with her husband, two children, and menagerie of tiny pets including a cat-sized dog, three fish, and a snail.

Reviews

[Sue Slade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penny is a smart, creative, 11-year-old at Kentville Academy. But she has anxiety. Anxiety hits when she becomes nervous, the center of attention or around people she doesn’t know. She gets shaky, sweaty, and can’t breathe or think. She gets lightheaded, dizzy, and her heart pounds. She struggles to speak and feels mortified. It makes making friends, speaking in class and talking to people difficult. So, she spends her time volunteering at Valley Pets, a local pet supply store and animal shelter where her Mom’s best friend, Rosie is the Manager. It is a place where she can be herself and not be nervous, it’s her safe space. While there she cleans up after the animals, plays and cuddles with them and creates exciting, imaginative, adventurous backstories for each of them. Then Ms Storm, the store owner, decides to close down the shelter and use the space for more pet products. The animals weren’t bringing in new customers and were taking too long to adopt out, costing her money in food and litter.

Ada, a bold, talkative girl accidentally discovers Penny in the animal play area while looking for the washroom. She befriends Penny and wants to help her save the shelter by making posters about the animals, telling everyone and going to the media. This overwhelms Penny, but Penny does not want to lose her safe space and she finds the courage to tell Ada about her anxiety and together they form a plan.

I was pleased that Heidi included a variety of exercises and methods of managing anxiety such as deep breathing or as Penny calls it rocket ship breathing, doing things a little bit at a time and five senses, finding something for each of your senses. Middle-graders who have anxiety may gain a useful coping tool by reading this fun story. I just loved the creative backstories Penny makes up, mixed in with their actual backstories. This could be a great creative writing spin-off activity for English classes fortunate to have this story read aloud or assigned to them.

Lastly, in Penny’s English class, she had to write a newspaper-style article about a famous notable Nova Scotian, living or dead. She picked Margaret Marshall Saunders who wrote Beautiful Joe. A story told from the point of view of an abused dog. She was the first Canadian to sell a million copies of her book outside Canada. I was pleased that Heidi included this side story, a story many do not know.

[Lana Shupe · Rating 4 out of 5]

PET TALES by Heidi Rushton published by Nevermore Press.

Heidi Rushton has accomplished what I believe to be a great feat. With compassion and care she has given her readers a delightful uplifting story in the face of the heavy subjects she deals with - childhood anxiety and animal abuse - without glossing over the facts. Her sensitivity to her subject matter shines within the pages of this book.

I adored the friendship between Penny and Ada, the central characters in this story. The author allowed them to be authentically themselves and shine in their strengths and help each other overcome their weaknesses. Young readers of this book will be able to see themselves in the pages. The author celebrates differences and makes it clear that everyone has a strength and can find someone to believe in them. A message that all children need to hear.

The cast of supporting characters, children and adults are believable and likeable. Of course the “villain” of the story, a certain Ms. Storm (perfect character name in my opinion) is perfectly horrible.

It is easy to see why Pet Tales would have garnered the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia Joyce Barkhouse Writing for Children prize in 2021. Heidi is an adult who has not lost the ability to see the world through a young person’s heart.

Fun Fact: The Nova Scotia author, Margaret Marshall Saunders, whose book is talked about and referenced in this story, is a distant relative of my husband and we own three different copies of her book, Beautiful Joe. After you have read PET TALES be sure to read Beautiful Joe.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved following Heidi's journey to publishing this book and aside from personally enjoying her as a person, I also absolutely loved this book! It was touching, well-written, perfect for the middle grade age group, funny, emotional, and a delight to read. I started it one night and then my kindle died so I picked it up a few days later and read all the rest of it in one sitting.

I loved Penny and her personality. It was so good to read about an 11 year old with anxiety and to read some of her techniques for coping with it. I do think many tweens could benefit from reading about this character. The sweet stories that Penny wrote about the animals in the shelter were delightful. There are some beautiful themes of friendship, family, standing up for oneself, believing in oneself, and caring about others. I really loved the character growth and the outcome of the story and I know many others will too.

Looking forward to celebrating Heidi's success with this release! I think anyone over the age of about 8 would enjoy this book but especially that tween age I can't wait for my two animal loving children to read it!

[Cindy Campbell-Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a surprise as I wasn’t expecting such a delightful and sobering tale of pet rescue bundled with a child’s anxiety and fear of public speaking. I read the book in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down for two reason’s: I wanted to find out what happened to the pets and I wanted to find out what happened to the main character, Penny. The only thing that bothered me was the true stories of the pets. All in all a tale well told.

[Moira Mackinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story! Penny is a young girl who lives in Nova Scotia and loves animals. She helps out at a local pet store that is also an animal shelter, and loves to write stories about the animals, imagining the fantastic secret lives they live. But Penny also lives with crippling anxiety that makes it very hard for her to make friends or meet new people. Pet Tales is the story of how she learns to find ways to cope with her fears, and in the process save her beloved animals and make new friends. Written by an author who also lives with anxiety, Penny's struggles are vividly and compassionately described and the story itself is fast-paced and funny and inspiring. I give this story four paws and a wagging tail up!

[Kaitlyn Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is technically a children’s book (ages 9-12 I imagine) but I really enjoyed it as an adult reader as well. I found the depiction of anxiety to be very well done, and I enjoyed the coping mechanisms shared within the story. I think it’ll go a long way in helping children with anxiety feel seen (& help end the stigma). I also loved all the animals in the story, and the backstories the main character Penny wrote for them. Pet Tales takes place in Kentville (& was written by a Nova Scotian author), so I enjoyed all the little references to places I know & have visited. Such a heart warming read. I recommend to anyone who is an animal lover, Nova Scotian or who struggles with anxiety- both children & adults!

[Mushroom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book slay girly

[Wunderdrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

This title is nominated for the 2026 Hackmatack Award in the English fiction category. The story is from the point of view of Penny, an 11 year old girl who volunteers at her local animal shelter. Penny finds comfort in working with animals because they aren't as intimidating as humans. She struggles with an anxiety disorder, which causes her to struggle with public speaking & being around people she doesn't know. One day the owner of the store (Valley Pets) that houses the shelter announces that the animals are costing her too much money and will therefore be shut down. Penny knows that they need to raise awareness about the plight of the animals, but that means that someone will need to speak out on their behalf. Will Penny be able to persevere and help the animals? With the help of her strategies to manage anxiety (like box breathing) - and some new friends - Penny digs deep to connect with her inner Marshall (aka Margaret) Saunders.
This story has it all! There's a protagonist who has to overcome a debilitating condition, a villain that you love to hate, and a wonderful cast of supporting characters. I would absolutely recommend it to kids age 8+, especially animal lovers and/or kids who struggle with anxiety.

[Gina Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It’s an inspiring novel that’s great for middle grade readers – and I think both parents and teachers will appreciate its positive messaging.
Penny is a bright, but shy girl who deals with the crippling effects of anxiety – which hampers her ability to speak up in class and make friends at school. So she volunteers at a local pet store, which is a safe space for her to look after the pets awaiting adoption. She even writes lovely stories about the pets that grabs people’s attention.
Penny meets an outgoing girl at the store, Ada, who learns about Penny’s anxiety and accepts her for who she is. Soon the two are knee-deep in an adventure to save the pet shelter. Through a series of situations, Penny works hard to overcome her anxiety when facing stressful situations.
This book weaves in interesting stories about Nova Scotians in history who made a difference with their positive activism. Through its sympathetic depiction of characters – we can better understand what it’s like for a young person to deal with anxiety. Any parent/guardian with a child dealing with various challenges will appreciate the way it’s explored in the book.
Well done!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this novel on the surface is about a group of youth trying to save a local animal shelter, Pet Tales, is actually about much more than this. Penny, the novel’s heroine, is an 11-year-old girl with anxiety, something with which many young readers, as well as adult ones, can identify. Penny must find ways to work with her anxiety, learn to trust others, and build friendships with others to help save the animals. Even though it is hard, Penny models coping strategies, as she knows these pets depend on her. Pet Tales is a wonderful, creative story that demonstrates the power of accepting others and working together and showing that it doesn't matter your size, age or mental health - you can achieve!