Books like Children Make Terrible Pets
By Peter Brown
For the kid who's begged for a pet and promised to take care of everything, this flips the script and lets them see the whole business from the other side of the leash. Playful, funny, a little mischievous, with a knowing wink for grown-ups.
A visitor-hating bear puts up a no-visitors sign and orders a mouse out of his house, but the mouse keeps turning up in the most unexpected places anyway.
A bear wakes up from hibernation ravenous and thin, and as his forest friends bring him roots, berries, clover, and fish, his hunger keeps growing — until it's satisfied in a surprising way.
A boy welcomes a hungry moose with a muffin, but one muffin leads to jam, then a trip to the store for more mix, spinning into one favor after another.
Two best friends spend a week of summer vacation at Eamon's grandparents' house, supposedly for Nature Camp — but waffles, video games, and staying inside turn out far more interesting than nature ever was.
An eager young dragon works his way through Madam Dragon's flying school, collecting bumps, bruises, and gold stars, while a mysterious little girl keeps turning up to patch him back together.
A beloved dinosaur bakes cookies, helps old ladies cross the street, and plays with kids in town — while one boy, Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie, insists she's scientifically extinct and shouldn't exist at all.
A bird wakes up too grumpy to fly, eat, or play, so he stomps off on a walk instead — and one by one, Sheep, Rabbit, Raccoon, Beaver, and Fox tag along.
Two kids stuck inside on a rainy day get an uninvited visitor — a tall cat in a striped hat who promises fun and games while their mother is away.
Giant dinosaurs try their hand at dog ownership, from splashing through baths to tossing balls in the yard, learning patience and gentleness with their beloved pups along the way.
A beautiful young cockroach must choose a husband, so her grandmother teaches her the Coffee Test — spilling coffee on a suitor's shoes to see how he reacts to anger.
Give a hungry little mouse a cookie and he'll ask for milk, then a mirror, then scissors — one small request tumbling into the next until the whole day spins out of control.
A cat gets a cupcake and asks for sprinkles to go with it, setting off a chain of requests and small messes that just keeps looping back on itself.
