Pets are Great

So, for preschool story time this week the theme was Pets are Great.   This theme is serendipitous, chosen because of some random books that happened to come across my desk at the same time. A new Dr. Seuss (published 24 years after his death), a cute new book and one book that I had  requested from another branch - for another reason.  I do happen to think that pets are great and so did my audience.

Here are the books we read:
Who Wants Broccoli? by Val Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Broccoli is a fun loving dog, who has spent most of his life in the Beezley's animal shelter.  Oscar is a young boy who wants a fun loving dog for a pet.  Will the two find each other and prove that "there is a lid for every pot and a pot for every lid?" This is an incredibly heartwarming story filled with humor and love. The illustrations are truly awesome and my story time audiences immediately fell in love with Broccoli, and the other incredibly cute animals in the shelter.  This one is a story time winner - when Broccoli does indeed"find his lid" against all odds my entire story time audience said "Ahhhh."

What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is unmistakably a Dr. Seuss book - bold colors, the wonderfully whimsical illustrations that are such an unforgettable part of each of his stories, and text that just bounces along.  This one is a bit strained, however.  The story of a brother and sister at a pet store having to choose just one to take home is funny, but a little flat.  Maybe it is the two double page reminders to "MAKE UP YOUR MIND" that interrupted the rhythm and the story...or maybe it was the ending that made me feel slightly disappointed.  Don't get me wrong, this is a fun and well illustrated story, and my two story time audiences seemed to love it.   Both groups seemed to enjoy the ending more than I did, and it turned out to be a  point of great engagement with the kids as I encouraged them to use the imagination...which they did with great enthusiasm.

Not Norman: A Goldfish Story by Kelly Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The illustrations are bright and bold and beautiful and the text simple.  This is a wonderful story about a boy and his dog...um fish and the growing affection between boy and pet.  When the boy receives Norman as a birthday gift, he is disappointed -he didn't want a stupid fish, he wanted a pet that could play catch and curl up on his bed at night.  The story contains a number of very funny attempts to trade Norman for a "good" pet which are laugh-out-loud good.  When the boy does get a chance to trade Norman for another pet, he finds that he really does have the perfect pet, after all.  In addition to good messages and plenty of humor, the main character in this book is dark skinned, and he is surrounded by other diverse characters.

This was a well received theme and the books complemented each other nicely.  Two out of the three books elicited a spontaneous "Ahhhh" from my audience - clearly they were touched by the tenderness of the stories.  Another good thing about this theme:  there are lots of great songs and rhymes and lots of great easy crafts as well.