Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
When Your Porcupine Feels Prickly
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Pomegranate, 2012 ISBN: 978-0764963186
Many of us know all kinds of things about animals. We know that cheetahs are the fastest land animals and that whales are not fish. We like to think that we know a lot about the animals that we keep as pets too. We know that cats like warm places to sleep, that dogs like companionship, and that pet rats need to be kept busy because they are intelligent. However, there are some things that perhaps we should know about animals that we don’t. Thankfully, the author of this book has kindly written down a few tips and suggestions to help us.
For example, it is very important to get your dog food as soon as he or she asks for it because “To do any less would be rude.” If you have a cat, always be sure to offer the feline a choice of food and ask “Would you prefer this? Perhaps you’d like that?”
Pet birds also need to be treated with consideration, and we need to show them that we trust and respect them. The best way to do this is to take off your hat when you are talking to your pet bird to show that “you don’t think you will be pooped on or pecked.”
If you have a bee for a pet and if she is “feeling down,” the author suggests that you offer her a crown. Wearing a crown helps the author when she is “feeling blue,” so maybe it will help a pet bee too.
In all there are twenty-two little poems in this book, each one of which is accompanied by a whimsical painting. As they read the poems young readers will find out how to care for their pet porcupines, baboons, pelicans, ponies, cockroaches, goats, and other animals. The author uses humor and a clever use of language to create poems that will delight readers who have a fondness for animals.
