Children's Book Review: Wanted: The Perfect Pet

Wanted:  The Perfect Pet
Written by: Fiona Roberton
Published by: Putnam Publishing Group, 2010
40 pages

from goodreads.com:
Henry wants a dog more than anything in the world-more than a cowboy costume, even more than an all-expenses-paid trip to the moon. So he puts an ad in the newspaper to find the perfect pet.

Far away, a lonely duck who desperately wants a friend reads the ad. He has the clever idea to disguise himself as a dog and apply for the job of Henry's best friend. But his cover is quickly blown when he isn?t very good at catching balls and his floppy ears and tail fall off. Henry is disappointed for a moment, until he thinks of all the amazing things this duck CAN do, and realizes he's found the perfect pet after all.
 Fiona Roberton's irresistible illustrations and utterly charming characters will win the hearts of readers of all ages.

 * My kids have recently been talking a lot about wanting a pet, specifically, a dog or a cat.  I grew up with cats as pets so I'm not against getting my kids a pet.  I keep telling them that they need to convince daddy though!  I saw this book, based on title alone, and thought it would be perfect to read to the kids, thinking that they might relate to the characters.  Henry wants a dog and takes out a wanted ad in the paper.  A lonely duck ends up answering the ad, but disguises himself as a dog, thinking that Henry wouldn't want him if he knew he was a duck.  Henry comes to realize that the duck is the perfect pet for him. Even after reading the story, when I asked my kids, they did not want a duck for a pet!  My daughter noticed and commented that all the pictures were black and white.  I thought that the illustrations were great and helped add to the story.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.