My Favorite Pets

April 25, 2016
Birdsall (the Penderwicks series) goes straight for hilarity in a story framed as a boy’s school assignment, with Bliss (Grandma in Blue with Red Hat) as an inspired coconspirator. Gus has a flock of 17 sheep, a healthy dose of curiosity, and parents who can’t quite keep up with him. His composition for Ms. Smolinski’s class, which appears in penciled handwriting across Bliss’s supremely goofy spreads, investigates his sheep and their interactions with the human world. Gus records his flock’s ability to understand language (“A girl sheep is a ewe. If you say, ‘Hey, Ewe,’ she won’t answer”), their dislike of small spaces (“You can’t put them into a car”), and some fashion notes. “Sheep look silly with pajamas on their heads,” he writes, memorializing the dazed face of his victim with his cell phone camera. When Gus brings the whole flock into the house, total ovine chaos ensues (“You can tell them it’s your little brother’s fault. You will get sent to your room anyway”). It’s a wooly stampede of guffaws all the way. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Barbara Kouts, Barbara Kouts Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

April 15, 2016
During the opening scene, in which Gus hands the teacher his report and a wrapped present, kindred spirits will suspect that there's a story behind his extra-dazzling smile.The protagonist lives on a farm with his parents, a younger brother, and 17 sheep. (Both humans and sheep are white.) His paper views the animals through his unique lens, starting with gender: "A girl sheep is a ewe. If you say, 'Hey, Ewe, ' she won't answer." He describes trading his sibling for a lamb and trying to teach the flock how to skateboard. It is when he shepherds the lot into the house that chaos erupts. In combination with her preposterous situations, Birdsall's deadpan narrative leaves plenty of room for Bliss to invent comedic scenes. Children will chuckle as the sheep wreak havoc: spaghetti-sauce tracks are traceable to the culprit sporting shades and underwear, a painting frames a bemused face, and sofa stuffing serves as dinner. The bucolic watercolor-and-ink compositions portray wooly creatures that are generally phlegmatic and brothers who enjoy comic books as much as they do their ovine companions. Text appears on old-school penmanship lines and in dialogue bubbles. To her credit (and despite losing a scarf to the cause), Ms. Smolinski seems to appreciate her student's creativity and affection for his pets.Fans will want to emulate the style and voice of this funny homework saga. (Picture book. 5-8)

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Starred review from August 1, 2016

K-Gr 3-Gus writes a report about his favorite pet(s): his family's 17 sheep. He begins with some basic facts about sheep but quickly slips into relating amusing details about his mischievous antics with the animals. Gus writes about his efforts to trade his little brother for a lamb, the time he dressed up a sheep in his teacher's borrowed scarf, and his attempts to teach the sheep to ride a skateboard and a bicycle. He includes brief references to his parents' reactions ("What were you thinking, Gus?"). But the last straw comes when the boy leads the sheep into the house, where they create quite a mess. "But we were only upstairs for a minute!" Gus's mother exclaims. Bliss's delightful illustrations take Birdsall's funny text to the next level by showing the extent of the trouble that Gus's grand ideas cause as well as the innocent-looking sheep. As fitting with an elementary school report, the text appears to be handwritten on notebook paper; Ms. Smolinski gives Gus a B] and comments on his improved penmanship. VERDICT A thoroughly engaging book that children are bound to giggle through. A first purchase.-Heidi Grange, Summit Elementary School, Smithfield, UT

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2016
Grades K-2 *Starred Review* Gus has a report due in Ms. Smolinski's class on his favorite pet. Or in his case, pets because Gus' family raises sheep, 17 of them (though they are still sheep, not sheeps). The text, scrawled out on lined paper, conveys information directly, as a good report should, but Bliss' wildly amusing illustrations provide delicious subtext: A girl sheep is a ewe. If you say, Hey, Ewe, ' she won't answer. And there's good reason for Gus to be calling after sheep: he is stuck in a tree. Gus' report remains fact-based, though it becomes more direct in its fun: Sheep look silly with pajamas on their heads, especially your little brother's favorite porpoise pajamas. (The pictures prove that deadpan sheep do look laugh-out-loud funny with pajamas covering their heads babushka-style.) Among the other things you can't do with sheep is teach them to skateboard, put them in the car, or let them inside the house. Repeat: do not let them in the house. Carrying out the conceit of Gus' report until the very end (B+!), this fresh, clever package is a solid, refreshing primary-grade read-aloud. Students may even get some new ideas for their own reports.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2017
"My favorite pet is sheep," begins a farm boy's school paper. (The book's text resembles a child's handwriting on lined paper.) The ensuing report is made up not of traditional sheep facts but of entertaining lessons the boy learned while cavorting with his sheep (e.g., "You can't put sheep into a wheelbarrow"). New Yorker cartoonist Bliss's illustrations play like perfect punch lines.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)