School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-What little boy doesn't want a pet? Jack is no exception, and he begins to come up with some rather impractical choices to run by his mother. She never rises to the bait but instead tells him logically why each one might not be right for them. Mom explains how an elephant might be hard to take on vacation, how a lion might frighten the mail carrier, and how T. Rex has been extinct for some time now. As the long list dwindles, Jack has a brainstorm. "Let's get a dog!" Mom agrees and they head off to pick out a "lovely little puppy." Jack is winking at readers as they open the gatefold to see a huge, unkempt, somewhat wild-looking dog named Fang riding in the car. Everything about this book works. Its large trim size fits Jack's oversize imagination perfectly. The animals spill over the spreads, convincing readers that perhaps Mom was right after all. And who can say whether Fang is a puppy or not? Pair this story with Lynne Jonell's I Need A Snake (Putnam, 1998) to explore the idea of convincing someone of your idea.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Young Jack wants a pet and proposes a host of possibilities, from an elephant ("I could ride it to school") to a T. rex (I could take it for walks"). Mom, unseen, gently but firmly squelches each candidate; she effectively counters Jack's suggestion of a polar bear by conjuring up an image of it having a hot flash in the living room ("I don't suppose it would like the central heating," she says mildly). The premise is shopworn, as is the wrap-up (Jack ends up with a "lovely little puppy" so huge that it occupies a horizontal gatefold), but both get a big boost from the computer-assisted cartooning on these exuberantly oversize pages. Filling in her thick black outlines with a mixture of digitally manipulated textures and densely saturated colors, Dodd (Just Like You; No Matter What, reviewed above) creates a daffy, winning cast of googly-eyed creatures whose ids run rampant. The T. rex's hide seems to be made of netting and camouflage, while an ungainly rhino appears to be upholstered in gray Naugahyde. Lots of fun. Ages 3-5. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
