Dixie Loves School Pet Day

January 1, 2012

K-Gr 1-Emma takes her dog to school on Pet Day. She pulls Dixie past a chipmunk and keeps her still as other youngsters present their pets to the class. The pup thumps her tail at the goldfish, yelps at an ant farm, and howls "Arroooooooooo!" at a frog. When the children are invited to "walk around the room and meet all the other pets," Dixie accidentally opens a bird cage with her nose. Two parakeets fly out and then land on top of her back, enabling Dixie to help return the birds to their home. Beginning readers will be familiar with many of the class pets, which are expressively depicted in the pencil and watercolor illustrations. While it is improbable that contemporary schools would have a Pet Day, readers will enjoy the humor and drama in this clever and satisfying story.-Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.