Ali Rutstein’s A Beginner’s Guide To Choosing The Perfect Pet is a hilarious picture book that will have both adults and their preschoolers in stitches.
The narrator, an anonymous mischievous little girl, declares that every family should have a pet. A faithful friend to welcome into your hearts and home. But it has to be the right one!
In her opinion, wild animals make excellent pets. Crocodiles are quiet, peaceful creatures with cheerful, happy-go-lucky personalities. Tigers are simply delightful, always up for a rambunctious game of hide-and-seek. Rhinos are fabulous beasts who have a sweet earthy aroma to match their gentle temperament. And you can’t go wrong with jellyfish. They are mesmerizing and mystical with a superb sense of humour.
But puppies, kittens, budgies, and guinea pigs get the thumbs down. Puppies, she assures us, make terrible pets as they follow you everywhere. And you should never trust kittens. They are aloof and unpredictable. Guinea pigs are unsuitable for small children as they hang out in gangs making sinister squeaking noises. Rabbits, too, should be avoided at all costs, expert eavesdroppers, they are quietly plotting World Domination.
Before purchasing your perfect pet the little girl suggests you should visit an animal shelter where you can find a misunderstood creature looking for a loving home. This is where she found Frank. It was love at first sight! Frank is a giant white polar bear who towers over her. When she caresses the sharp nails on one of his paws, he looks down at her with a decidedly wicked grin.
In Tommy Doyle’s brightly coloured comicky illustrations he has brilliantly captured the expressions on the faces of the humans and the animals. Parents look horrified while their children cavort around happily with wild beasts who have cunning, greedy looks in their eyes and evil toothy grins.
Luckily, no mayhem occurs, so there is no violence or bloodshed in this book.
Big words like sinister, rambunctious, unpredictable, and temperament are included in this humorous tale, which will help to build young children’s vocabulary and lead to some interesting conversations. Although the concept of World Domination may take a while to explain!
Undoubtedly preschoolers will find this story just as hilariously unbelievable as the adults who read it to them. But just in case it makes them hanker after a more exotic animal, a visit to the zoo might be called for where they can safely admire wild animals in cages.
Reviewer: Lyn Potter
Allen & Unwin