domingo, 29 de abril de 2012


For Children Who Want Pets and Parents Who Don’t

By PAMELA PAUL

A PET FOR PETUNIA
Written and illustrated by Paul Schmid
32 pp. Harper/HarperCollins Publishers. $12.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7)

PRUDENCE WANTS A PET
By Cathleen Daly
Illustrated by Stephen Michael King
32 pp. A Neal Porter Book/Roaring Brook Press. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 7)

GILBERT GOLDFISH WANTS A PET
By Kelly DiPucchio
Illustrated by Bob Shea
30 pp. Dial Books for Young Readers. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8)

MELVIN AND THE BOY
Written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo
40 pp. Henry Holt & Company. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8)

Pet-averse parents (or people who simply believe feeding and caring for two-legged creatures is enough) dread the moment when their children make the transition from “Will he bite me?” to “Why can’t we get a dog?” Eventually, it seems, every child wants a dog, a cat or at the very least a fish. What to do?
Fortunately, children’s book authors helpfully provide backup for almost any excuse: Too big! Too hairy! Too loud! And the old, Who will empty the litter box?
Into the pantheon of “The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!” come four new entrants. “A Pet for Petunia,” by Paul Schmid, matches a charming girl named Petunia with a thoroughly inappropriate pet: a skunk. The protests of Petunia’s parents (“They stink”) are borne out as Petunia confronts the reality of her coveted woodland friend. Rightfully deterred from adopting an actual skunk, Petunia instead sticks to a stuffed skunk, which suffices until, of course, the last page, when Petunia decides she wants a porcupine (the star, conveniently, of Schmid’s next, yet unpublished picture-book tale).
Strikingly similar in terms of its petite format, precious prénom and largely purple palette is “Prudence Wants a Pet,” written by Cathleen Daly, author of a middle-grade novel, “Flirt Club.” Sweetly illustrated by Stephen Michael King (“Leaf”), “Prudence” deftly combines funny and cute, and has a resourceful heroine too.
She faces some fierce opposition. “Pets cost too much to keep,” Prudence’s dad says. They make noise, her mom complains. So Prudence instead adopts various substitutes, including a branch and a shoe. At last the parents cave, and Prudence gets a new pet cat. Whether this is a happy ending or a sad one depends on your point of view. Either way the book is clever and endearing.
If only matters could be as easily resolved as they are in “Gilbert Goldfish Wants a Pet,” written by Kelly DiPucchio (“Grace for President”) and illustrated “Jetsons” cartoon style by Bob Shea (“Dinosaur vs. Bedtime”). Gilbert, a domesticated goldfish, longs for company. But a dog is too barky, a mouse too unfriendly and a fly is a threat to his well-being. A surprise ending neatly solves the problem. Gilbert is rewarded with much-needed water-bound company, and Gilbert’s owners catch a break.
And you can add an eco-friendly flourish to the message! In “Melvin and the Boy,” the first book to be both written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo (who previously illustrated “What Happens on Wednesdays,” among others), a boy’s parents tell him he can’t get a dog, a monkey or a bird. But when the nameless boy (substitute your child’s name here) is captivated by a turtle in the park, he’s allowed to bring a pet home.
Alas, the turtle, which the boy names Melvin, seems unhappy in his new environs. This awakens an empathetic awareness in the child: “In the morning, I tell Mom and Dad that Melvin isn’t having much fun at our house,” he says, and then willingly releases Melvin back into the park, where he is probably better off, as endpapers describing the lives of turtles make clear.
Now, what to do with an unwanted pet pig?

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