Pet Book

I Want a Pet by Lauren Child

Pets have been another theme in our reading. Mitchell loves to meet cats and dogs - although they don't always love to meet him! So we're learning to ask before we race up to hug every dog we encounter. But he loves to read about pets, and I'm sure the 'I want a pet' issue will raise it's head at our house in the next year or so.

Along with Hairy Maclary's Rumpus at the Vet, this has become a favourite 'pet' story.

Lauren Child is, of course, better known for her Charlie & Lola books. But, to be honest, I'm not enraptured with them, and find them hard going as 'read aloud' books.

Here, however, we have a great read aloud story.

I really want a pet.
Please, Mum, can I have a pet?

When her mother weakens, and asks the little girl what kind of pet she wants, it opens up the horizons of her imagination. She thinks of more and more weird and wonderful possibilities, responding to her family's concerns with impressive logic.

The voices of the girl and her family are delightful and amusing (and 'true' to the ear, so far as reading aloud goes)

Granny says, "Nothing with a buzz." It interferes with her hearing aid.
Grandad says, "Stuffed pets are very reliable."

The flat, cartoon-like, line-drawn illustrations, filled with bright scribbled marker-pen-style colours, set against the strong solid background colours, make this visually a good choice for large groups - as even the back row can see them clearly.
The only challenge are the sentences set at the bottom of the page - readers unfamiliar with the story can easily miss these (though they aren't critical to the storyline)

The humour is easily appreciated by the older children, while the younger ones are simply delighted by the thought of a lion or an octopus as a pet.

While the ending (the little girl chooses an egg, just about to hatch, so no-one knows what the pet is going to be) is a little frustrating for those children who like to have all the loose ends neatly tied off; it does encourage children to use their imaginations in speculating what the pet might be.

This is an 'easy' read aloud story, with a good strong plot and simple vocabulary.
More experienced readers can extend the story with different voices for the adults, sparking discussions about the about the pet choices the little girl is making, and leading off into different pet or imaginative activities (let's make a pet, let's act out the story, let's draw a picture of what the pet in the egg will look like)