Who hasn’t longed for an adorable pet at some time in their life? Maybe a cuddly puppy or soft kitten to snuggle with — or even a scream-inducing lizard to frighten an older sister! The draw of pet ownership goes beyond youthful yearnings for something cute or cuddly. It speaks to the innermost nature of man, for whom sometimes the best companion is one of a different species. Peter Brown’s latest book,
Children Make Terrible Pets, offers amusing and enlightening insight into pet ownership for children 3 to 8 years old, told through the eyes of an endearing and charming bear named Lucy.
Peter Brown weaves his magic again in this new tale of responsibility and pet ownership. Brown was born and raised in New Jersey, and spent his childhood exploring the world around him. From an early age, he expressed interest in capturing the natural world around him by sketching animals from the local zoo and nearby farms. Brown studied at the Art Center College of Design in California, where he expanded his skills and finely honed his quirky sense of humor. After a tour of Europe, he got down to the hard work of writing
The Flight of the Dodo, nailing his first book deal in New York.
The Flight of the Dodo is an engaging story about differences and learning from each other. The Purple Kangaroo, a hilarious tale involving mind-reading monkeys (yes, monkeys!) and The Curious Garden, which strongly evokes Brown’s childhood love of the outdoors, speak to audiences through clear images and vivid story-lines.
Brown’s latest creation,
Children Make Terrible Pets, makes use of all his captivating creative skills. Lucy is a playful bear who stumbles across an adorable child in the forest. Echoing the cries of generations of children before her, Lucy pleads with her mother to keep the child as a pet. Of course, her mother’s sage advice — “children make terrible pets” — is ignored due to a lack of parental understanding that children proclaim so well.
For a while, that seems to really be the case. Lucy and her new pet, Squeakers, enjoy the best parts of pet ownership together. They do everything together — playing, eating, sleeping — and the good times seem to keep rolling. Then, like a lightening bolt from above, Lucy’s mother’s admonition begins to strike home. Squeaker, for all his charm, will simply not do as he should! He doesn’t want to be potty trained and thinks that furniture is made for the junk heap.
Eventually, Squeaker makes his way back to his family, but not before Lucy understands the important lessons she learned about pet ownership. While admitting that Mom was right may not be easy, Lucy comes to see why the best place for Squeaker is with his own family.
Lucy and Squeaker can be trailed to www.hachettebookgroup.com/kids_books_9780316015486_Description.htm. For updates and other works by the amazing Peter Brown, track him down at his website www.peterbrownstudio.com
