Wanted, the perfect pet

Wanted: The Perfect Pet by Fiona Roberton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Cute. Great Read Aloud. I think kids will like it. A heartwarming tale of friendship. Sparse line drawings.
Things I liked about the book: effort on duck's part to take charge and change things. Accepting something different, seeing good of an alternative, boy used and looked up resources and reference material to find facts about duck. Boy made an effort to help duck see he himself not as a lame substitute but perfect the way he is.

School Library Journal (July 1, 2010)
K-Gr 2-Henry is looking for the perfect pet. The ad he places in the classifieds reads, "must have waggy tail, floppy ears, soft wet nose and warm furry tongue." Duck lives alone on a cold, windy hill where no one calls, writes, or emails. After reading Henry's ad, he makes a clever doggy disguise and journeys off to meet the boy. Henry is delighted with his new "dog" until its nose, tail, and ears fall off in a game of chase. Then Henry does some research in his Enormous Book of Incredibly Interesting Things and is delighted with his new pet, especially after he makes a list of the duck's skills, including underwater swimming, flying, nest building, excellent at disguises, and "can talk...rare, but not unheard of." Declaring the bird the perfect pet, Henry names the now-happy duck Spot. Roberton's line drawings have a palette of mostly of black and white, gray, and touches of green and yellow. They are very effective in conveying mood, action, and humor. The amusing text is placed in and among the illustrations for a seamless partnership between the two. An excellent tale about not getting what you thought you wanted but loving it anyway.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.
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