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Pet
Shop Lullaby
By
Mary Ann Fraser
Published by
Boyds Mills Press Fall 2009
It's night time in the pet shop, and all the animals are asleep.
Squeak.
All the animals--except for one.
Squeak.
One that can't sleep at night.
Squeak. Squeak. Squeak!
Turn on the
light and find out who is keeping everyone awake.
REVIEWS
When it’s nighttime in the pet shop, all of the animals settle in to sleep
just as the nocturnal hamster is stretching and waking up. He goes for a
run on his wheel, but the “Squeak! Squeak! SQUEAK!” disturbs the other
animals. Once he’s off the wheel, his munch munch CRUNCH and
scritch-scratch noises force the other animals to get creative in settling
the hamster down to sleep. After a bath in a dog food bowl (complete with
tiny rubber ducky) and a bedtime story (which the guinea pig holds
upside-down while making up a story about three hamsters), the little guy
finally nods off. But when morning comes, it’s the hamster’s turn to be
kept awake. Fraser tells her funny story economically, with few
words—mostly sound effects—and with simple pictures that convey the mood of
the animals through their body language, by the tilt of an ear or the set
of an eye. Sweet without being saccharine, this will appeal to young
preschoolers in a group or at bedtime. The Horn Book January/February 2010
A nocturnal pet-shop resident is disturbing the other slumbering
creatures.
In the dark room, their silhouettes gather around a cage, and their
colorful eyes present an opportunity for guessing. The lights come on to
reveal a hamster busily spinning on its wheel surrounded by a
disgruntled
cat, parrot, dog, turtle, guinea pig, mouse, and rabbits. With an
admonishment to “Sh-h-h-h-h,” they turn off the lights. And the
hamster does try, but with
a “scritch, scratch” and a “pitter-pat,” the little rodent
continues its
evening activities. Awakened again, the pet-shop denizens begin to
ponder
ways to get the hamster to sleep. A bath, toothbrushing, lullabies
(delivered by the parrot), and a bedtime story all help do the trick. On
each page, the sizes and shapes of the sound words reflect their nature,
from “CRUNCH,” with bites missing, to a soapy “scrub scrub.”
Each spread is
full of color, with soft-hued backgrounds and crisply illustrated
creatures. This fun and amusing book about bedtime is also appropriate
for
newly independent readers.— Booklist
At night,
when the residents of a pet shop want to sleep, a noisy
hamster keeps them awake. They try
various ways to quiet the little
creature: Dog gives him a bath.Rabbit brushes
his teeth. Parrot sings a
lullaby. Gerbil shares a story, and Cat tucks it
in. Turnabout comes at
daylight when hamster wants to sleep and his boisterous housemates
are now
wide awake. While the plot is a familiar one, Fraser’s tale is brief
and to
the point, and the comical gouache illustrations
infuse energy into the
telling. Fun touches abound, like a rubber ducky floating in Dog’s
dish and
the gerbil reading an upside-down book. Page layout varies from single
page
to spreads. Incorporate this charming read-aloud into bedtime or
pet-themed
storytimes.–School Library Journal, 12/1/09
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