Pinky and Rex and the Just-Right Pet

by James Howe, Melissa Sweet (Illustrator)

Overview

Pinky's family is getting a pet! The problem is, by a three to one vote, they've decided to get a cat, and Pinky wants a dog. And when they get a kitten, Pinky's sister, Amanda, says that Patches is hers. Why should Pinky care? He didn't want a cat in the first place. But Patches may have her own ideas about whose cat she is.

Customer Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689839429
Publisher:	Simon Spotlight
Publication date:	05/01/2002
Series:	Pinky and Rex Series
Edition description:	Repackage
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

James Howe is the author of more than ninety books for young readers, including the modern classic Bunnicula and its highly popular sequels. In 2001, Howe published The Misfits, the story of four outcast seventh-graders who try to end name-calling in their school. The Misfits is now widely read and studied in middle schools throughout the country, and was the inspiration for the national movement known as No Name-Calling Week (NoNameCallingWeek.org), an event observed by thousands of middle and elementary schools annually. There are three companion novels to The Misfits: Totally Joe (2005), Addie on the Inside (2011), and Also Known as Elvis (2014). Howe’s many other books for children from preschool through teens frequently deal with the acceptance of difference and being true to oneself. Visit him online at JamesHowe.com.

Melissa Sweet has illustrated more than eighty children’s books, including the Caldecott Honor book A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant. She also wrote and illustrated Tupelo Rides the Rails; Carmine: A Little More Red, which was a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book; and Balloons Over Broadway, a picture book biography that was named a 2011 Publishers Weekly Best Nonfiction Picture Book. When she is not in her studio, Melissa can be found taking an art class, hiking with her dogs, or riding her bicycle. She lives with her family in Rockport, Maine.

Table of Contents

Contents

1. The Family Meeting
2. The Plan
3. Patches
4. Pinky's Secret
5. Gone!
6. A Pet for Pinky
   

Editorial Reviews

In another story that kids will identify with, Howe relates how much Pinky wants a pet—not any pet but a dog. It isn't to be, because at the family meeting his sister Amanda, Mom and Dad all vote for a cat. A cute little kitten named Patches joins the family. Amada is a little rough with the kitten and at night Patches pads into Pinky's room and nestles up with him. Soon they become fast friends and as the book ends, Pinky is content to have the kitten as a pet and not a dog. There is a mild degree of suspense and realistic family dynamics that keep the story moving. Melissa Sweet's charming watercolors can be found on each spread and vary from full page to smaller insets. Kids who are ready to read on their own will enjoy this twelfth book in the "Pinky and Rex" series. A Level 3 book in the Ready-to-Read category. 2001, Atheneum, $15.00. Ages 5 to 8. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot

Children's Literature

K-Gr 2-In this 12th adventure, Pinky is outvoted three to one when his family decides to get a pet. He conjures up a perfect plan to convince his father to change his vote from "cat" to "dog," but it is foiled when his sister convinces their parents to adopt one of the free kittens being given away in front of the supermarket. To everyone's surprise, the newcomer takes a liking to Pinky and he decides that he prefers a cat after all. As in the past, Howe delivers a realistic story with just the right amount of suspense and drama for the intended audience. While Rex plays a minor part here, children will still enjoy this tale of an everyday situation that appears to be a disaster until all dilemmas are resolved and life can go back to normal. Sweet's illustrations add the right touch to an ideal beginning chapter book.-Olga R. Kuharets, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, NC Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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