Most people have had at least one pet in their life. I had a few cats (mostly shared as family cats), several fish, tons of rocks and a shared dog with my uncle who was dumb as those pet rocks (the dog, not my uncle; then again as I think about it…) Anyway, if you haven’t had/can’t have or even if you do have/or had, that wouldn’t stop you from reading about pets. Below I found three titles that are about Pets. Some are pets you know and recognize as beloved creatures of the Pet Scene and a few not as familiar or commonly known as Pet Friendly.
No Fish In My Dish by Ted Forsstrom, Asa Lucander (illustrated by), A.A. Prime (translated by)
One cat. One family. And a lot of lack of communication. One cat is always napping. Then this cat is always needing food when they wake. And no matter how recently they have eaten, they manipulate a family member into giving them (more) food. Is there a message and lesson learned? Maybe, but really this book is just about a cat who is an extreme cat, the family that loves them and the fun, silly, amusing, expressive illustrations that tell you how one cat knows where it is at.
Rebecca the White House Raccoon by April Genevieve Tucholke and illustrator Dave Szalay
This is about an animal that you don’t think of as a “Friend” when picking a pet. Now, I do, as my father had a pet one as a kid, and I’ve seen friendly ones around the yard. But most didn’t when President Coolidge was given a raccoon for dinner (hopefully as a joke!). Instead of lunch, this animal lover (and the second president to be born in the coolest state) and his family take in this critter who would make a White House an Animal House. Rebecca’s adventures and how history was made around her is hilariously illustrated in cleverly amusing and colorful illustrations.
Button Up, Buttercup! By Ted Forsstrom, Asa Lucander (illustrated by), A.A. Prime (Translated by) is where we go back to Forsstrom’s humor and style. AS Dad is snuggled up reading a bedtime story, Buttercup thinks something isn’t all right. Some mistakes, mishaps and dogs being dogs (along with some really over active imaginations) later, we find out that things are not as off as our (not so) brave heroes think. It is just silly, not a lot of “meat” but you can sink your teeth into a book that will make reading time a goofy time as well as you follow the antics in not muted, but not “popping off the page” colored and minimal, but well done, detailed illustrations.
Both of Forsstrom’s books are recently out and Rebecca has been making the rounds for a while now, yet all three were read via online readers.
