The Best Pet of All

Entry Number: 48
Title: The Best Pet of All
Author: Davd LaRochelle
Illustrator: Hanako Wakiyama
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Year: 2004
ISBN: 978-0142412725
Genre: Fiction, fantasy
Topics: pets, dragons, dogs, tricks
Age Group: 3-6
Awards: Minnesota Book Awards Children's Picture Book Winner (2005)
Dewey Category: n/a
Format: Picture book

The ever-prevalent desire among children for that special pet is uniquely depicted in this playful picture book. A boy asks his mother three times for a pet dog, because, well, “a dog is a good pet.” The mother chants “no” all three times and comes up with excuse after excuse while her household chores and aerobics prevent her from even looking at her son. Then one day, the boy makes a most unexpected request: he wants a pet dragon. Mom sees this as a chance to outwit her son, so she agrees that if he is actually able to find a dragon, he can keep it. Warm pinks, soft peaches, and mellow yellows wrap these characters in retro-yet-modern gouache paintings as the boy sets off in search of the “best pet of all.” Both he and his mother are in for a surprise that will have animal-loving kids reeling and parents realizing that sometimes kids outsmart us.