Customer Reviews

The Best Pet of All

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A staid but stylish 1950's setting complements this simple tale of a young boy who wants a dog but winds up with a dragon. Wearing his rolled-up, patched denim overalls, he repeatedly asks his culotted mom for a dog as she does household chores (of course, the father is nowhere in sight). Clearly, she doesn't want the extra work. However, this baby boomer is clever: When he asks his mom if he can have a pet dragon, she replies (thinking that SHE is the clever one)," "If you can find a dragon, you can keep it for a pet."

After some searching, he finds a beatnik dragon in a drugstore. The nonchalant dragon, decked out in a porkpie hat and shades, visits the boy's palm-lined suburban home, where he wrecks havoc that few dogs could match. The little green dragon messy, unhelpful, roasts hot dogs in midair, dances to "loud music all night long," eats spaghetti in the bathtub, and then refuses to leave. Boomer boy latches onto another scheme: He realizes that the dragons are scared of dogs (a plot device that one must simply accept), and now even his mom wants one. When Fido arrives, the Dharma dragon grabs his hat and hits the road-no problem for this wanderer--and the boy gets a dog and his mother's agreement that "A dog is a good pet."

This is a concise, easily read book, focusing briefly on the mother/son conflict before settling on the figure of the renegade, rebellious dragon. The scenes of bathtub spaghetti swilling and the gravity-defying weenie roast are sure to get laughs, and adults will enjoy illustrator Hanika Wakiyama's soft, vignetted illustrations. She captures the Fifties' with an unencumbered style, showing details like an old TV and period toys without overwhelming the story. Her eye even extends to the colors and designs of the household furnishings. The dragon is not at all scary, and kids and adults with identify with the emotional subtext.

I've had a ball reading this book to kids (and to myself). Having trouble convincing Mom to let you have a dog? Well, this little boy has it all figured out. The author has written an upbeat, warm story and the illustrator's additions make the pictures lots of fun to inspect. That is one cool dog substitute this boy invites home. Check it out. Sure to become a favorite at your house.

This is the best children's book I have seen in a long time. I found it browsing in a bookstore for a child's birthday - and now I plan to give it as a gift many times over. The story is great and the illustrations are perfect. Bravo to David and Hanako!

We all know that dogs are man's best friend, but when Mom says, "NO DOGS!", a boy decides that maybe a dragon could be a good substitute. Getting Mom to agree is surprisingly simple, and after a day of searching and persuading, a dragon donning a pork-pie hat and sunglasses moves in to the family's home. The dragon quickly proves to be an unpleasant addition to the family and when Mom tells the dragon it's time to go, he shakes his head and goes back to eating spaghetti in the bathtub. The boy has a brilliant idea, however, dragons don't like dogs, are in fact scared of dogs, and adding one to the family convinces the dragon to find a new residence. However, if you look carefully at the last page, it seems that maybe things weren't quite as they seemed. A fun read for new readers and for parents too, this one will quickly become a night-time ritual.

We happened upon this book in the grocery store discounted books bin...I first purchased it in hardcover and can't believe I got so lucky! It was a diamond in the rough! The illustrations are completely fabulous...I love the detail that adds to the plot. The last page brings it home and you won't be disappointed with this one. I've given it as a gift because it's one of our favorites.

I was pleased with this order, I was searching for books that would interest my first grade grandson, and one he could read without much help. He loved this book!!
He did need some help, but we used the words he did not know as a new words list and spelling list.

I purchased this book for my 2 year old daughter with her Christmas money and she loves it. The day it came in the mail my daughter asked me to read it six times. It is a very cute book and not too long for a young child with a short attention span. My eight year old enjoyed it as much as our two year old. Great book for any young child.

Who cares if adults like this book? Kids love it, especially kids who've been told, "No dog!" LaRochelle's and Hanako's dragon is a marvelous villain, and it's somewhat disappointing when the boy finally gets an ordinary good dog. A truly funny and imaginative story.

I don't know how I found this book, but I am so glad that I did. I think I may have searched for the subject of dragons at the library. The fact that "dragon" is not in the title probably means it gets left out of the search results quite often! My son liked it the most out of all the books I had just bought and rented. It's just a great book. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the illustrations in this book. They are just DARLING. They are classy and fun and so appealing! I wanted to check out the other books this illustrator has done, but my library doesn't have them! The story is fantastic, too. My 3 year old son memorized this one VERY quickly. Maybe the fastest he has ever memorized a book! The plot is great and thankfully this book is off the beaten path a little bit.

I always read reviews before buying a book and try to get an idea if it might be for us. I can recommend "The Best Pet of All" wholeheartedly.

Just about every kid I've ever known will sit still for at least 15 minutes for a story about a dog or cat. Don't know why, but I use it on the preschoolers when they get antsy and whiney or yelly.
The kids seem to like the dragon in this book, "The Best Pet of All" as much as they like the dog who comes to replace him. Non-readers will sit carefully studying each pages illustrations, which do a good job of telling the story. The one particular illustration that the kids keep coming back to is the page with the dragon eating spaghetti in the bathtub. I think we went through a six month period of time where my two year old asked me at least once a week, "Mom, why that monster taking a bath in noodles? Why?" Is that the sign of good art? That it sticks with you? You figure, anything that would hold a two year old's attention that long is worth twenty bucks.