Prudence Wants a Pet

Poor Prudence. She wants a pet. Bad. Real bad. Her parents deny her repeated requests. Pets are expensive; they make noise; they take up too much space; they're messy. But Prudence is one determined little girl. If her parents won't give her a pet, she'll find her own. And so she does.

Her first pet is a branch. Prudence takes excellent care of Branch. Then one day her dad trips on Branch and her pet is broken into bits and delegated to the wood pile. Undeterred, Prudence gets a new pet--Twig. And so it goes. She makes a pet out of her dad's shoe, a car tire, and even her baby brother Milo. Readers will be rooting for Prudence and her quest to finally get the pet of her dreams.

Prudence Wants a Pet is a must-read picture book for any child who's ever wanted a pet of his or her own, and let's face it, that includes just about every child on the planet. The sly, humorous text is written in short, easy-to-read sentences, making it a good choice for beginning readers. And the cartoon-like illustrations are a riot, as we see Prudence enthusiastically react to each new pet she adopts. Highly recommended.

Prudence Wants a Pet
by Cathleen Daly
illustrations by Stephen Michael King
Roaring Brook Press, 32 pages
Published: June 2011