Fairy Tale Pets

This picture book tells the story of Bob and his dog, Rex. They have an idyllic life apart from one thing - they are poor. Bob hits upon the perfect scheme to make money - they will look after pets, such as dogs, cats, hamsters, that sort of thing. So, up goes the advert and in come the pets. There's the golden-haired girl who brings a bear; a boy called Jack who brings a goose; a strange-looking, growly-sounding lady with three billy goats and, to cap it all, three pigs arrive with their 'puppy'. It won't be long before young readers realise that the pets are characters from fairy tales, which makes this book perfect for an adult to share with a young child and talk about the fairy tale behind the pet. The ending, when the results of the 'puppy's'huffing and puffing mean that Bob and Rex have to embark on a new money-making venture, involving gardening and the beans that Jack gave them in payment, also encourages revisiting of the original tale. The illustrations are colourful and simple but the range of expressions of the baby bear's face cover the whole gamut of emotions and provide yet more opportunity for discussion. Picture book / Ages 4+ / Reviewed by June Hughes, school librarian.

Suggested Reading Age 5+

Imagine if the fairy tale characters - Goldilocks, the three little pigs, Jack from the beanstalk and the troll in the Three Billy Goats Gruff - needed to tend to the animals that have a role in each of their stories? How tricky might they be to look after? When Bob, who is broke, decides to set up a pet-sitting company, he doesn't realise that these are the kinds of pets he'll be given to tend to... and they aren't easy customers. Little Bear has tantrums, the goose is terrified and the trip-trapping goats are just plain noisy - but none of them are quite as bad as wolf.... This picture book gives us a fun new way to look at fairy tales, although children will need to know each of the stories to understand the humour. There are lots of opportunities to develop work around the story. Children could talk about their own pets, or a fairy tale pet, and how they might look after it. What would be the worse fairy tale pet they can think of to look after? How about setting up their own pet-sitting corner and creating fairy tale pets to fill it, or making a display for the classroom walls? Older children in KS1 could recreate the story with different pets, and act it out. This picture book is great fun, and a must-have for work around fairy tales. Picture book Ages 4+ Reviewed by Alex Young.

Suggested Reading Age 5+