From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3?In this humorous series entry, Ms. Rooney has declared Pet Week in Room 113. Beast feels that his family dog is not special enough to take to school?he's convinced that Kissie Poo is fat, ugly, sleeps all the time, and doesn't know any tricks. He borrows his sister's tropical fish, loses them in the park, and then realizes that he has accidentally let the dog out. When Beast rushes home to look for her, he finds her waiting faithfully for him and realizes how special she is. The students' reports about their individual pets appear at the end of the book. The narrative is light and funny, with true-to-life primary-grade school situations. This may be a formulaic story, but the author is quite adept at the formula. Just right for beginning chapter-book readers.?Anne Parker, Milton Public Library, MA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 1^-3. Richard "Beast" Best, star of the first Polk Street book, gets another outing as Ms. Rooney's class plans a day for bringing pets to school. Beast, as usual, has heard only about half of what the teacher has said, and worries that his pet dog, Kissie Poo, will not impress his classmates. Giff again exhibits a knack for capturing real kids in the classroom, managing to do it with humor and sensitivity as well as short, simple sentences. The book concludes with pet-care guidance on such animals as worms, cats, fish, and skinks, written in the voices of the book's characters.
Susan Dove Lempke
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