Pet of the Met (Picture Puffins) [Paperback]

Don Freeman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1988 | Series: Picture Puffins

Maestro Petrini is the only mouse at the Metropolitan Opera House, the perfect place for a music loving mouse and his family. The only danger is Mefisto, the opera house cat, who hates music and mice--until one day when he listens to The Magic Flute and becomes enlightened.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Don Freeman was born in San Diego, California, in 1908. At an early age, he received a trumpet as a gift from his father. He practiced obsessively and eventually joined a California danceband. After graduating from high school, he ventured to New York City to study art under the tutelage of Joan Sloan and Harry Wickey at the Art Students' League. He managed to support himself throughout his schooling by playing his trumpet evenings, in nightclubs and at weddings.

Gradually, he eased into making a living sketching impressions of Broadway shows for The New York Times and The Herald Tribune. This shift was helped along, in no small part, by a rather heartbreaking incident; he lost his trumpet. One evening, he was so engrossed in sketching people on the subway, he simply forgot it was sitting on the seat beside him. This new career turned out to be a near-perfect fit for Don, though, as he had always loved the theater.

He was introduced to the world of Childrens' Literature, when William Saroyan asked him to illustrate several books. Soon after, he began to write and illustrate his own books, a career he settled into comfortably and happily. Through his writing, he was able to create his own theater: "I love the flow of turning the pages, the suspense of what's next. Ideas just come at me and after me. It's all so natural. I work all the time, long into the night, and it's such a pleasure. I don't know when the time ends. I've never been happier in my life!"

Don died in 1978, after a long and successful career. He created many beloved characters in his lifetime, perhaps the most beloved among them a stuffed, overall-wearing bear, named Corduroy.

Don Freeman was the author and illustrator of many popular books for children, including Corduroy, A Pocket for Corduroy, and the Caldecott Honor Book Fly High, Fly Low. For more information about Don Freeman, please visit:

www.donfreeman.info

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (August 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140508929
• ISBN-13: 978-0140508925
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,874,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A successful search, April 21, 2002

By 

Jeannie Marcus (Newton, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pet of the Met (Picture Puffins) (Paperback)

I was so disappointed when I went to the Metropolitan Opera Shop at Lincoln Center in NYC to find that Pet of the Met was out of print. It's a wonderful story to introduce children to the world of opera. I read it to my children and now that I have grandchildren I wanted a copy for them. I was happy to find it on Amazon even though I had to pay a premium to get it second hand. This book is worth it.
The book should be re-released for the next generation of future opera lovers.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Mouse's View of Opera, June 26, 2000

By 

"narya58" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pet of the Met (Picture Puffins) (Paperback)

"Pet of the Met" is an enchanting story about a mouse and his family who live and work in the Metropolitan Opera House. The adventures of Maestro Petrini as he works as a page turner, and his subsequent run-in with Mefisto the cat, offer children an easy and interesting entrance to the world of opera, and to the story of "The Magic Flute". The illustrations are lively and colorful and the view of the "teeny-weeny" Petrinis dressed as characters from the Magic Flute never fails to raise giggles when I read this book to first-grade students.

5.0 out of 5 stars Opera Lovers of Children, January 15, 2009

By 

Adriana (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pet of the Met (Hardcover)

Don Freeman does it again. Lovely book. Great way to illustrate how one can be carried away by music. Music creates a lasting friendship between cat and mouse.