mat_tobin's review against another edition
4.0
Voake is a British author and illustrator whose stories (often about cats) usually revolve around families and animals. Working in ink and watercolour, we are greeted by a richly coloured double-page spreads of a children with their associated pet. The unusual element being that these are pets that children generally wouldn't have: giraffes, warthogs, moles and - adding to the book a deliciously dark twist - a crocodile (my favourite). There is an element of Dahl and Edward Lear to this story and I think young children will delight in the absurdity of the animals, the beautiful illustrations and the humorous ending.
snazel's review against another edition
4.0
Adorable illustrations, and a story about the many unstable pets that these children have adopted. A giraffe is far too tall! An Elephant is far too heavy. And a crocodile is far too — crocodile.
lauralynnwalsh's review against another edition
3.0
Cute idea, decent pictures, but it just doesn't have enough to it for me.
jennybeastie's review against another edition
4.0
It's true, I like any picture book where there's a strong possibility of a character getting eaten, but this one also shines in excellent vocabulary and a weirdly deadpan tone. Delightful!
kristinajean's review against another edition
4.0
Such silly fun! A great read aloud with large-type words!
aylea's review against another edition
3.0
This review posted at The Children's Book and Media Review
People can have all kinds of different pets. Melissa has an octopus, but it’s not very suitable because he makes such a mess in the bathroom. Thomas has a mole, but the mole is always making tunnels and so is difficult to find. Betty can’t ever find her chameleon. Arthur’s warthog does exactly what it wants. Caroline has to use a ladder to hug her pet giraffe, and Simon’s doesn’t know which end of his worm he is supposed to talk to. Peter’s elephant is sometimes way too heavy. With all of these unsuitable pets, though, a crocodile that could eat its owners could be the most unsuitable pet of all!
This book doesn’t have lessons to learn from. Instead, it uses a lot of visual humor and charming illustrations to talk about pets. There isn’t a particular plot. Instead, there are examples of all the different kinds of unsuitable pets that the children in the book have. The last pet takes away some of the cuteness of the book and makes it somewhat alarming instead. The lack of a plot and the simple descriptions of why certain animals are unsuitable pets make it something of an odd book, but many children will enjoy the pictures and perhaps decide that they don’t want an unsuitable pet of their own.
People can have all kinds of different pets. Melissa has an octopus, but it’s not very suitable because he makes such a mess in the bathroom. Thomas has a mole, but the mole is always making tunnels and so is difficult to find. Betty can’t ever find her chameleon. Arthur’s warthog does exactly what it wants. Caroline has to use a ladder to hug her pet giraffe, and Simon’s doesn’t know which end of his worm he is supposed to talk to. Peter’s elephant is sometimes way too heavy. With all of these unsuitable pets, though, a crocodile that could eat its owners could be the most unsuitable pet of all!
This book doesn’t have lessons to learn from. Instead, it uses a lot of visual humor and charming illustrations to talk about pets. There isn’t a particular plot. Instead, there are examples of all the different kinds of unsuitable pets that the children in the book have. The last pet takes away some of the cuteness of the book and makes it somewhat alarming instead. The lack of a plot and the simple descriptions of why certain animals are unsuitable pets make it something of an odd book, but many children will enjoy the pictures and perhaps decide that they don’t want an unsuitable pet of their own.
mat_tobin's review
4.0
Voake is a British author and illustrator whose stories (often about cats) usually revolve around families and animals. Working in ink and watercolour, we are greeted by a richly coloured double-page spreads of a children with their associated pet. The unusual element being that these are pets that children generally wouldn't have: giraffes, warthogs, moles and - adding to the book a deliciously dark twist - a crocodile (my favourite). There is an element of Dahl and Edward Lear to this story and I think young children will delight in the absurdity of the animals, the beautiful illustrations and the humorous ending.
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