Changes

There's much to enjoy in ''The Pets You Get!'' It's full of gentle lessons, such as appreciating what you have. There's a very strong sense of rhythm throughout, but interestingly the rhythm changes between sections, which is a neat difference from most picture books. It doesn't always scan perfectly, but there's enough charm to brush over this. Slightly more grating are some of the forced rhymes:

It always feels so unnecessary to have a line like that. Many other lines work brilliantly, such as the boy and his imagined grizzly bear eating chips in a mountainous lair. The imagery is quirky and creative - and the illustration is particularly cute. Where the rhymes click, it's like the very best nursery rhymes. It's just that they don't always click.