Don't Take Your Snake for a Stroll

May 5, 2003
"If you want to have fun without worry,/ Listen to what you should do:/ Leave all of the animals tucked in at home/ And take only people with you." Ireland (Wonderful Nature, Wonderful You) proves this concluding advice applies to every possible pet and situation, whether it involves a duck at a wedding reception (the waterfowl may use the punch fountain as a splash pool) or an elephant at the beach (the pachyderm will require countless bottles of sunscreen, and "You'll barely cover his legs"). The rhyme and meter can be hit and miss, but many of the scenarios will keep readers in stitches. Catrow's (Plantzilla) editorial-style watercolors, with their distorted perspectives and goofy details (one of the mall stores pictured bears the sign "Tons of Putty"), plunge readers into a funhouse-mirror world. A redheaded boy resembling an upside-down bowling pin owns the pets in question; his presence unites the spreads and his expressions offer witty punctuation to every improbable scenario. When confronted by a movie usher about his moose companion, for instance, he flashes a theatrically innocent smile; when a huge pet pig wallows in the mud of a planter at the mall, he shoots the animal a look of disdain worthy of any frustrated parent. Readers will likely relish this extended retort to the perennial question, "Why can't the pet come?" Ages 3-7.

October 1, 2003
K-Gr 2-In this cautionary tale, a boy is advised not to take his unusual pets anywhere-"Don't take your skunk on an airplane," "Don't take your moose to the movies," etc. His pig will make a slobbery mess, and the snake will terrorize the neighborhood. The watercolor with black-line art is hilarious as each animal (rabbit, chimpanzee, frog, duck, and more) creates its own peculiar ruckus, and the boy's wide-eyed surprise suspends him in concentrated animation as the action swirls around him. Judith Barrett's Animals Should Definitely Not Act Like People (Aladdin, 1988) makes for simpler amusement whereas Ireland broadens the fun with four-line rhymes per page. At the end, the child holds his palm out to stop the pets as he walks with his oblivious parents and younger sister. His wise expression suggests that he will never go out with members of that motley group again. A verbal and visual treat.-Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2003
K-Gr. 2. In the spirit of Margot Apple's " Sheep in a Shop" (1997), this humorous litany of what might happen if one takes exotic pets out for a stroll, shopping, to the beach, or on any number of outings makes for a comic cautionary tale. Brief rhymes, one for each situation, describe the action, which is perfectly complemented by the wacky artwork. Illustrations in bright colors and outlined in thin, scratchy lines depict exaggerated people and beasts in all sorts of silly situations: an outsize pig wallows in a planter outside a mall that boasts stores such as House of Socks and Pencil Mart; rotund passengers bail out of an airplane after the skunk sets up a stink; an outrageously plump bride with a beehive hairdo looks astonished to find a duckling in her punch; and so on. Kids will like the outlandish pictures and giggle at the goofy advice.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2003
Rhyming text warns a young boy about the perils of taking his array of exotic pets to public places, e.g., going to the movies with his large-antlered moose, flying on a plane with his skunk, or swing dancing with his rhino. Though a bit repetitive, Ireland's concept is playful, and Catrow's cartoon watercolor illustrations with their quirky characters bring out the book's humor.

(Copyright 2003 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)