A Pet for Petunia

January 3, 2011
Extroverted Petunia wears a striped purple jumper and lives a life filled with exclamation points; she "wants wants, wants! a REAL pet skunk." She pleads with her parents, who are never on-camera; it's mostly Petunia's side of the conversation, overheard like half of a cellphone call. Her begging culminates with a rant so impassioned that it fills an entire page with words that start out huge and shrink, line by line, as her protests lose steam: "STINK? How can you say that!...You said no when I wanted a python, too! I bet Katie's parents would get her a skunk." Schmid's (The Wonder Book) line drawings are simple, fluid, and convey lots of valuable information: when Petunia makes a snack for her stuffed skunk, the milk carton on the table leaks where she's ripped it open, betraying her claims of responsible care ("I'll feed my skunk every day. I promise!"). An encounter with a real skunk gets Petunia's mind off pets—briefly. Enthusiastic and single-minded, Petunia makes delightful company; kids will recognize themselves and clamor for rereads. Ages 3–7.

July 1, 2011
Petunia has a toy skunk, but she "wants, wants, wants!" a real one. Despite her promises that she'll feed and walk it, her parents refuse. Miffed, she leaves home, and in some nearby woods encounters a skunk--and "A humongous stink!" Schmid's take on the kid-craves-a-pet tale is amusing, and his spare drawings, punctuated with purple and occasional dashes of orangey-brown, are eye-catching.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 15, 2011
Preschool-G In this wry spin on the cuddly pet story, Petunia loves her toy skunk, and she desperately wants to get a live one. Schmids spare pictures, in simple black lines touched with mauve, show Petunias daydreams about having fun with her pet, and she plans to read to him, draw pictures for him, and take him for walks. She begs and begs for a real skunk, but her parents refuse. Finally, she throws a tantrum and takes off into the woods, where she is thrilled to meet a real, live skunk, but when she gets close to the sweet, cuddly creature, it sets loose a stench that sends Petunia running. Back home, she cuddles her toy, which she decides is the perfectly awesome pet, until, while playing in the grass, she spots an absolutely, totally, major sweet porcupine! Children will recognize Petunias furious meltdowns with her family as much as the warm, loving attachment to her favorite toy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

Starred review from May 1, 2011

K-Gr 3-Fearless apologist for skunks, Petunia can no longer accept just a stuffed toy, and begs and pleads with her parents for a real one. Precocious as can be, she will not accept the brick wall she hits when her parents' true feelings leak out, and they say no with the simple reason, "They stink." The child relentlessly concludes that her parents are "lunkheads" and decides to run away, plotting, "I'll get eaten by bear. Then they'll let me have my pet skunk." She gets what she deserves when she comes upon a skunk in the woods and experiences firsthand the "awful...horrible...humungous stink!" The illustrations leave much white space for Petunia's personality to soar. The natural, expressive charcoal-rendered lines coupled with accents of purple watercolor (and a bit of complementary orange here and there) suit the story well and add to its sophistication; the typeface is equally expressive. Although the circular ending with the child eyeing a porcupine rings a tad cliched, the gentle artistry of the skunk, the woods, and the porcupine warm the heart.-Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York City

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.