Once there was a boy that wanted something to take care of. He kept begging his mother for a dog, until finally she says, Yes! The young boy took care of his pet. Some days were easier than others, until the day the dog wanted something to take care of. Something if its very own as well. The mother is not pleased, but one day the dog brings home a cat. Later the cat wants a pet of their own and gets a bird, who gets a pet worm and the wheels of pets wanting pets continue. That is, until the mother has had enough and the boy must find an answer to their tricky situation.
My Pet Wants a Pet by Elise Broach is a basic story of a child wanting a pet. But then the pet wanting the pet (and chooses the stereotypically “enemy” of the pet: dogs usually chase cats, cats chase birds, birds eat worms….) comes into play. This makes it a not so basic story. Broach tries to come across that we all need something to love and take care of. Perhaps giving the pets something not a live (a stuffed toy) might have made the same point, as the chaos that ensues was not pleasant to this reader, but I do understand the concept.
The highlight of the story for me are the illustrations of Eric Barclay. Bright and simple yet with fun details make them a story within themselves. And while there are other picture books that Broach has created, I think I will stick with the middle reader genre books, such as Masterpiece.
