Take Your Pet to School Day

by Linda Ashman, Suzanne Kaufman (Illustrator)

Overview

Wouldn't it be fun to bring your pet to school? Now imagine if EVERYONE brought their pet to school! That's exactly what happens in this hilarious picture book! A lighthearted, perfect read for back to school—no matter what that looks like!

When pets show up with their kids at Maple View Elementary, it's total chaos! These animals have no respect for school rules, and every class quickly gets out of hand. But why did they show up in the first place? Who said they could come? Could it have been...the pets themselves? It turns out they just wanted in on the fun! Now, if they want to stay, they'll just have to behave....

Linda Ashman's bouncy, rhyming text lends itself perfectly to an exuberant classroom read-aloud, and Suzanne Kaufman's playful art is full of hilarious details. A great way to generate enthusiasm for school, this book will easily find a place in pet lovers' hearts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524765590
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	07/02/2019
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	499,171
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD500L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

LINDA ASHMAN's many picture books have been included on the "best of the year" lists of the New York Times, Parent and Child magazines, the New York Public Library, and Bank Street College of Education, among others. She lives with her family in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For more, visit lindaashman.com.

SUZANNE KAUFMAN is an author, illustrator, and animator. Over the years she's done everything from animating special effects for Universal Television and the Discovery Channel to animating award-winning video games for children. She's the illustrator of a number of children's books, including Samanthasaurus Rex by B. B. Mandell, Naughty Claudine's Christmas by Patrick Jennings, 100 Bugs! by Kate Narita, and her own book, Confiscated! Learn more about Suzanne online at suzannekaufman.com or on Twitter at @suzannekaufman.

Editorial Reviews

Ashman's vivacious rhymes and Kaufman's lovingly detailed illustrations bring a far-fetched dream to life in this larky story.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

06/24/2019

Every kid at Maple View School brings home a curious but official-looking notice: on Friday, the no-pet rule will be suspended, so “bring your bunny, bird or dog,/your lizard, turtle, fish or frog.” And it seems like a lot of fun at first: the school’s opening song turns into cacophony as animals “howl with gusto, bleat with glee.” But art class and story time are a mess, and snack time—shown in a vertical spread—becomes chaos, even if a porcupine looks very cute eating a fully loaded hot dog. Whose idea was this, anyway? When the humans eventually figure out that the animals invited themselves, the creatures fess up: “We miss our kids when they’re at school.” Sprightly rhymes by Ashman (Outside My Window) and cheery, mischievous pictures by Kaufman (All Are Welcome) make this both a good giggle and a cautionary tale. Ages 3–7. (July)

Publishers Weekly

2019-05-08
Devious pets change the school rule that bans them and experience a day of chaos and animal love.

The opening spread shows a child holding a letter stating pets will be welcome at school on Friday in one hand, a hedgehog in the other. Turn the page, and every student is arriving with an animal in tow (what about those without pets?). After each class with the animals, the teachers declare the rule change a disaster. Indeed, chaos reigns in the music room, the library, and the art studio. The principal, a brown-skinned woman with short, dark hair, agrees—she didn't do it. But then, who did? "Meeoowww." A neatly printed letter reads: "We do not like your ‘No Pets' rule. / We miss our kids when they're at school." The note is signed "Pets." The hopeful, pleading faces of the kids win the day—as long as the pets clean up their messes and behave—and the day is a success. But that doesn't mean the pets' plan to declare that every day be pet day will fly! Ashman's verses are bouncy, and Kaufman's brightly colored artwork will have readers poring over the details in her busy scenes and laughing at all the mischief. The people and their pets are diverse, especially the latter, which include an entire ant farm pulled in a red wagon, a hamster in a ball, a large snake, and a horse.

This will certainly have readers yearning for pet days at their own schools. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

Ashman’s vivacious rhymes and Kaufman’s lovingly detailed illustrations bring a far-fetched dream to life. . . . Highly entertaining.” —The New York Times Book Review

"Ashman’s verses are bouncy, and Kaufman’s brightly colored artwork will have readers poring over the details in her busy scenes and laughing at all the mischief. The people and their pets are diverse, especially the latter, which include an entire ant farm pulled in a red wagon, a hamster in a ball, a large snake, and a horse. This will certainly have readers yearning for pet days at their own schools." — Kirkus Reviews

"Sprightly rhymes by Ashman (Outside My Window) and cheery, mischievous pictures by Kaufman (All Are Welcome) make this both a good giggle and a cautionary tale." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher