A Pet for Petunia

by Paul Schmid, Paul Schmid (Illustrator)

Overview

Meet Petunia.

More than anything, Petunia wants a pet.

“I’ll feed my pet every day,” she promises her parents.“I’ll take her for walks. I’ll read stories to her and draw her pictures.”

Petunia knows she can take care of a pet, but what happens when the pet she most desires is a skunk?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061963315
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/25/2011
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	656,973
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Paul Schmid's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all artists. He is the author and illustrator of A Pet for Petunia, Petunia Goes Wild, and Hugs From Pearl and the illustrator of The Wonder Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. In 2010, Paul was awarded a monthlong fellowship with Maurice Sendak. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Linda, and their daughter, Anna.

Paul Schmid's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all artists. He is the author and illustrator of A Pet for Petunia, Petunia Goes Wild, and Hugs From Pearl and the illustrator of The Wonder Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. In 2010, Paul was awarded a monthlong fellowship with Maurice Sendak. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Linda, and their daughter, Anna.

Editorial Reviews

Extroverted Petunia wears a striped purple jumper and lives a life filled with exclamation points; she "wants wants, wants! a REAL pet skunk." She pleads with her parents, who are never on-camera; it's mostly Petunia's side of the conversation, overheard like half of a cellphone call. Her begging culminates with a rant so impassioned that it fills an entire page with words that start out huge and shrink, line by line, as her protests lose steam: "STINK? How can you say that!...You said no when I wanted a python, too! I bet Katie's parents would get her a skunk." Schmid's (The Wonder Book) line drawings are simple, fluid, and convey lots of valuable information: when Petunia makes a snack for her stuffed skunk, the milk carton on the table leaks where she's ripped it open, betraying her claims of responsible care ("I'll feed my skunk every day. I promise!"). An encounter with a real skunk gets Petunia's mind off pets—briefly. Enthusiastic and single-minded, Petunia makes delightful company; kids will recognize themselves and clamor for rereads. Ages 3–7. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 3—Fearless apologist for skunks, Petunia can no longer accept just a stuffed toy, and begs and pleads with her parents for a real one. Precocious as can be, she will not accept the brick wall she hits when her parents' true feelings leak out, and they say no with the simple reason, "They stink." The child relentlessly concludes that her parents are "lunkheads" and decides to run away, plotting, "I'll get eaten by bear. Then they'll let me have my pet skunk." She gets what she deserves when she comes upon a skunk in the woods and experiences firsthand the "awful...horrible...humungous stink!" The illustrations leave much white space for Petunia's personality to soar. The natural, expressive charcoal-rendered lines coupled with accents of purple watercolor (and a bit of complementary orange here and there) suit the story well and add to its sophistication; the typeface is equally expressive. Although the circular ending with the child eyeing a porcupine rings a tad clichéd, the gentle artistry of the skunk, the woods, and the porcupine warm the heart.—Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York City

School Library Journal