I WANT A PET!

How do you find the perfect pet?

A boy wants a pet, but “[n]ot just any pet will do,” and, naturally, to find an animal, one would go and visit…the zoo. Colorful illustrations with just the right amount of action show the boy, complete with wagon and net, arriving at the zoo to peruse the selection. He doesn’t notice the very appealing pup who lingers in the background as he travels around and crosses animals off his mental list; the giraffe is “[t]oo high,” the meerkats “[t]oo low,” the cheetah “[t]oo fast,” and the tortoise “[t]oo slow.” The short, rhymed phrases continue through other animals, until the boy discovers just the pet he is searching for, right in front of his eyes. Will he bring the pup home? You bet! While the scenario is somewhat thin and forced—a toddler on his own in the zoo searching for a pet?—the story’s gentle humor carries through, and the appealing pictures, familiar animals, predictable descriptions and satisfying ending will entertain young listeners just beginning to identify zoo animals and their characteristics. The easy-to-interpret interaction between text and illustrations combine with the rhyme to make this book work well for beginning readers as well as lapsitters.

Good fun for very young animal lovers. (Picture book. 2-4)