Rita's Rhino by Tony Ross

Rita's Rhino by Tony Ross
Buy Rita's Rhino by Tony Ross at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Rachael Spencer
Summary: A wonderfully absurd tale of a girl and pet Rhino. Will Rita's Mum find out about him, and what will Rita do when she runs out of grass from Africa? I think you should get your hands on this book to find out.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: November 2014
Publisher: Andersen Press
ISBN: 9781783440252
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Rita really wants a pet, but when she asks her Mum for one she isn’t so keen. They’re smelly and greedy and take lots of hard work. Eventually she relents, and gives Rita a jar with a flea in it, his name is Harold. Obviously, Rita isn’t happy with this so she decides to take matters into her own hands. What will she do, and how will she manage to hide a Rhino from her pet-fearing mother?

This is a flat out funny book, which made me laugh out loud often. Books about wild and odd pets are always going to be an amusing subject, but this one is written particularly well by Ross, one of the living legends of children’s literature. I love the absurdity of the idea that Rita might actually get away with walking out of the zoo with a Rhino simply by popping her tiny hat and coat over it. It is in touches like this that the book becomes brilliant, the ever so slightly out of this world tale of a girl and her Rhino.

The illustrations are perfectly matched to the story, each page is full to bursting with lovely details to entertain you as much as the words. Colourful and witty, both the words and the pictures, I think this book is a great one for both reading with little children but also for children learning to read on their own to dive into. Ross is a master at engaging the reader and balancing the story with the images to create a book which I can only assume kids will really love.

This is, as far as I can tell, the ideal book to entertain kids with, funny and with a brilliant story (which might not end how you expect it to). I can easily see it being a title you’ll borrow over and over again from your local library, probably because your kids keep asking you to.

Another wonderful book about iffy pets is Melissa's Octopus and other Unsuitable Pets by Charlotte Voake, so be sure to check that out if you enjoyed reading about Rita and her Rhino.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Rita's Rhino by Tony Ross at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Rita's Rhino by Tony Ross at Amazon.com.

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