The Pets You Get

March 1, 2013

PreS-K-Big sister loves her guinea pig, but her younger brother can think of more interesting pets. He imagines the thrill of having a pup, but his sister says dogs are smelly and messy. He enthuses about having a bear, but she nixes that idea, too: a bear is too big to sleep in bed with her. How about a huge smoking dragon? That would show her! When his sister points out that dragons don't really exist, the boy suggests other amazing pets, among them a panther, polar bear, eagle, rhino, dinosaur, sea monster, and rat. Any one of those would do. Then his sister places the guinea pig on his arm, where it runs, leaps, slides down, and then zooms off, leading the two children into a "fantastic game of hide-and-seek." Suddenly, a guinea pig is not so bad, and maybe they could share the pet, although the boy still wants to have a dragon someday. While the story line is common, the children and animals shine and take center stage in the big, bold, and colorful illustrations, with backgrounds minimal or nonexistent.-Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2013
An exuberant (and imaginative) little boy pooh-poohs the idea of having a boring guinea pig for a pet...until he gives it a try. Not satisfied with his sister's cute and cuddly guinea pig, the narrator wants a cool pet...like a dog. Watercolor scenes from his imagination fill the next spread, showing readers the fun that he could have with a dog. But a page turn brings him back to reality, his sister explaining that dogs are smelly and messy--the opposite of guinea pigs. This pattern continues as the boy imagines life with a shaggy bear and a smoking dragon. And why stop there? One page is a hodgepodge of (similarly inappropriate) pets, wickedly toothy in Taylor's artwork. But when the wise sister places her beloved pet on her little brother's knee, it's the start of more than just a merry game of hide-and-seek. He agrees he'd like to share her pet, admitting guinea pigs can be fun..."though I'd still like a dragon someday!" Taylor's children have a sweet sibling relationship (minus the dragon breathing fire at the sister), while page turns nicely build suspense. The parents of young readers who enjoy this may want to read aloud Guinea Dog (2010) by Patrick Jennings next. No guarantee that children will choose a guinea pig as a pet (especially with all these choices!), but the odds are in parents' favor. (Picture book. 4-9)

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July 1, 2013
A brother thinks his sister's guinea pig is a boring pet. He'd much rather have a pet dog, bear, dragon, or countless other interesting animals. Predictably, he discovers that guinea pigs are "really fun after all" (and great at playing hide-and-seek). Illustrations of the boy's imagined "much more fun" creatures are "much more exciting" than the lackluster story.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)