Pet Boy [Hardcover]

Keith Graves (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

Meet Stanleyavid pet collector. He purchases them in singles and in matching colored sets. Big or small, dry or wet, he loves to buy new pets. But, always on the lookout for something new and unique, Stanley quickly loses interest in the pets he has. Until one day, he finds a very unusual pet store, and before he can say, "I'll take the singing manta ray,"zap!he finds himself inside a cage! Stanley quickly learns the ups and downs of being a pet, and by the end of his intergalactic adventure he understands the importance of friendship, loyalty and respect.

The creator of Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance has concocted another zany story that is as hilarious as it is thought-provoking.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It takes a trip to outer space and a case of role reversal to give a boy bored with his pets some perspective. One day, while searching for ever-more-novel animals, pet-collector Stanley is petnapped himself by an evil, turquoise-hued trader and sold to Jopnar, a three-eyed alien boy. After a failed escape attempt lands Stanley in the pound ("where strays not claimed by end of day/ are soon to be extinct"), Jopnar arrives in the nick of time to free the boy and his caged mates. He sends Stanley home, properly repentant and ready to treat his pets with greater respect. Using the same dark yet luminescent palette of his debut Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance, Graves paints a pleasantly demented universe. Stanley resembles a long, skinny pencil eraser with spectacles, alien spaceships appear to be manufactured from old battleship parts and the evil trader's pants expose a little too much of his aqua rear end. In spite of its sometimes bumpy verse, the narrative picks up speed and inventiveness as the story builds to a climax. Ages 3-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 6-8. An obsessive young pet collector suffers a change of heart after an extraterrestrial hunter seizes him and sells him to a giant, three-eyed, purple alien boy. Furious at being kept in a jar, Stanley not only refuses to perform any tricks for his new owner, Joiner, but also escapes as soon as an opportunity presents itself. Just as he's about to be exterminated by the local equivalent of pest control, he is reclaimed by Joiner, who, newly concerned for his pet's well being, transports him back to Earth. Having seen the bars from the inside, Stanley promptly frees his own menagerie, but makes his former pets an offer they can't (or, at least, don't) refuse: regular meals in exchange for their continued company. Graves' verse text displays an airy disregard for consistent rhythms and unforced rhymes, but he stocks his darkly lambent acrylics with a wild assortment of bizarrely hued, rubbery looking creatures. Though lacking the delectable grossness of his crowd-pleasing Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance (1999), this delivers a worthy thought with engaging silliness. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811826724
• ISBN-13: 978-0811826723
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,048,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Keith Graves grew up long ago in a strange, humid land called New Orleans. And if you don't think it really is a strange place, then you haven't been there for Mardi Gras.
He is the author and illustrator of a bunch of nutty books for children including Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance, Chicken Big, and Three Nasty Gnarlies.
Keith lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Nancy and twins Max and Emma. His website is keithgravesart.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great -- Very Funny, December 30, 2003

By 

Me "sperkey" (Antioch, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pet Boy (Hardcover)

I got this book for my four year old son and he loves it. He frequently asks me to read it to him at bed time. It's a little corny, very outlandish, and very entertaining. It does send a message of responsibility by turning the tables on a boy who is somewhat careless with his pets. I think what I like most is the way the author writes this story with a sing-song rhythm that carries you through to the end and leaves you with a smile. Fun family book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read Out Loud Book With Rave Reviews by Students, November 10, 2002

By 

R. Gryniuk "Speech Lady" (Ruidoso, NM United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pet Boy (Hardcover)

I am a speech and language patholigist working in 4 rural school districts in northern New Mexico. I work with students who have are not in special education as well as those that are seen for communication difficulties. All students have enjoyed this book. Most of these students have animals and could easily relate to this story. It has a moral that all students seemed to understand. It's the first book that I have read in a long time without anyone interruping me! It can be used on 2 levels of understanding. One level is fairly concrete. The other level requires the listner or reader to interpret Pet Boy's view point. Two school librarians were so impressed that they ordered this book for their libraries.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book!, September 8, 2009

By 

L. Marshall "mom of 2" (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pet Boy (Hardcover)

My son age 7 loves this book. We also love two other of his books Frank Was A Monster Who Wanted to Dance, and Three Nasty Gnarlies. The artwork is wonderful to look at