Can I Keep Him, Please??

How many of you found an animal, brought it home and asked Mom if you  could keep it? And her answer? Well, it depends on the mom. I just read a delightful story about just that- only there is a twist. The animal is a child and the one who found it is a bear. The story is Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown. Lucy is playing in the woods when she hears a squeak coming from the bushes. “OH! MY! GOSH! You are the cutest critter in the WHOLE forest.” So like any child, Lucy takes him home to ask her parents if she can keep him. They agree on one condition- he’s Lucy’s responsibility.

Squeaker is a great pet- for awhile. They play together. They eat together. They nap together. Potty training is another story. Then the worst happens- Squeaker disappears. Lucy learns a valuable lesson about pets. One that kids can quickly see and relate to as well.

Children Make Terrible Pets is a great read aloud. You might combine it with Princess Justina Albertina: A Cautionary Tale by Ellen Lee Davidson or do a search in Destiny. Search pets. Then narrow your search by browsing subjects. Look in the list of subjects for pets—fiction. Teachers and library staff can create a resource list (after logging in) and make it public so your students can easily find all sorts of fiction stories about kids and their pets. Looking across the district, I can see 543 different titles. How many do you have at your school?