I Want a Pet

I Want a Pet by Lauren Child

            Picture Book—PreK-2

            Rating: 5 Stars

            Summary: A girl longs for a pet, but quickly learns that her initial choices (a lion, octopus, and boa constrictor, to name a few), bring a slew of undesirable traits and responsibilities.

            I Want a Pet is a classic scenario of a child who bargains with her parents to let her have a pet. I certainly found myself in this same situation for much of my childhood—my longing for a dog resulted in fourteen years of persistent begging before my family finally adopted a dog from a shelter. Just like the parents in the story, my mom and dad always found plenty of reasons to avoid getting a pet. None were quite as outrageous as those that this story chronicles as the girl names off numerous animals which are obviously ill-suited to be pets. Child captures the determination and incessant pleading that many children go through in order to eventually have a pet. I found the reasoning very humorous, especially when the grandad says that “Stuffed pets are very reliable.” My dad once felt the same way and got me a battery-operated dog for Christmas, telling me that was the closest I would get to having a dog. Fortunately, he changed his mind, and the girl in the story is also lucky enough to eventually get a pet that we just see as an egg at the end of the story. I like that Child leaves it up to us as the reader to speculate about the girl’s pet, adding to the mystery and allure of the story as a whole. Also, the quirky illustrations add a fitting touch to the story. The scratchy, juvenile depictions perfectly complement the mentality of the girl as she dreams about all of the bizarre pets she can have.

            This story would be a great read-aloud for young children. For every child who is lucky enough to have a pet, there is another who is longing for one, and everyone can dream about owning an eccentric pet like a lion or boa constrictor. I think everyone can relate to the dream of having an animal to care for and love. At the very least, I Want a Pet would be a great story to ignite the imaginations of students and discuss the excitement of owning an octopus or a lion. While improbable, this is just the scenario that children can easily latch on to and use as inspiration for a story of their own. The end is also open for interpretation, which would be a good way to get students thinking and generating their own inferences as to what pet the girl will end up with when the egg hatches. Overall, I think this story would simply be a great way to inspire creativity in a way that is still relatable to a lot of kid’s interests.