Product Description

What would happen if your moose wanted to go to the movies? What if your rhino begged to go dancing? What if your pig pleaded to shop? Say "No!" Because, as the unsuspecting pet owner in this book learns, taking peculiar pets to people places can lead to pandemonium!
Karin Ireland's hilarious verse and David Catrow's wacky visuals just might convince you that sometimes it's best to leave your creatures at home.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #388166 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780152023614
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-In this cautionary tale, a boy is advised not to take his unusual pets anywhere-"Don't take your skunk on an airplane," "Don't take your moose to the movies," etc. His pig will make a slobbery mess, and the snake will terrorize the neighborhood. The watercolor with black-line art is hilarious as each animal (rabbit, chimpanzee, frog, duck, and more) creates its own peculiar ruckus, and the boy's wide-eyed surprise suspends him in concentrated animation as the action swirls around him. Judith Barrett's Animals Should Definitely Not Act Like People (Aladdin, 1988) makes for simpler amusement whereas Ireland broadens the fun with four-line rhymes per page. At the end, the child holds his palm out to stop the pets as he walks with his oblivious parents and younger sister. His wise expression suggests that he will never go out with members of that motley group again. A verbal and visual treat.
Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
K-Gr. 2. In the spirit of Margot Apple's Sheep in a Shop (1997), this humorous litany of what might happen if one takes exotic pets out for a stroll, shopping, to the beach, or on any number of outings makes for a comic cautionary tale. Brief rhymes, one for each situation, describe the action, which is perfectly complemented by the wacky artwork. Illustrations in bright colors and outlined in thin, scratchy lines depict exaggerated people and beasts in all sorts of silly situations: an outsize pig wallows in a planter outside a mall that boasts stores such as House of Socks and Pencil Mart; rotund passengers bail out of an airplane after the skunk sets up a stink; an outrageously plump bride with a beehive hairdo looks astonished to find a duckling in her punch; and so on. Kids will like the outlandish pictures and giggle at the goofy advice. Diane Foote
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
KARIN IRELAND is the author of more than a dozen books for adults. Don't Take Your Snake for a Stroll is her second picture book. She lives in Austin, Texas.

DAVID CATROW is an award-winning illustrator of books for children as well as a political cartoonist. He lives in Springfield, Ohio.

Customer Reviews

Wish this kind of book was around when my kids were small!
This is a superbly illustrated and cleverly written children's
book for ages 2 to 7! Every page has a "what if" poem about
taking various animals shopping, to the movies, to the beach,
etc. The pictures enhance the story line and make a child
(and adult) anxious for the next page! I bought one book
for my favorite 3 year old and then went back and bought
2 more for my nephews! I hope this author and illustrator
will keep working together to produce more like this book!

A Cute Book, but Not for Every Child - a review of "Don't Take Your Snake for a Stroll
This is a cute book conceptually and the poetry reminds me very much of Shel Silverstein - at least as far as the cadence and some of the rhyme goes.

The humor is there, but in my experience it is going to be one of those things that your child is going to 'get' or not get depending on where they are developmentally - which means you are going to have to make the judgement call yourself as to whether they would enjoy this book.

With my own two children, I would say that they didn't 'get' most of this book. (They are boy and girl; 4 and 6 y.o. at the moment.) Below is an example of one the rhymes.

If you take your pig out shopping,
Don't take him to the mall.
He'll play in the dirt in the planter outside
And you won't get to shop at all.

Three Stars. [C+]. Cute rhymes. Cute concept. Artwork is so-so. Good read-aloud.

Don't Take Your Snake For a Stroll
A fun book for readers that are a bit older. My 4 and 5 year old enjoy the story, but don't get the humor regarding each animal. I think this is great for first grade and up. When I read this at elementary school story time, it gets the best reaction from the first and second graders.