Peculiar Pets

These accessible… texts include personal anecdotes, trivia (e.g., “Some potbellied pigs can be taught to paint”), and recommendations for successful pet/owner relationships. Each volume includes an “at a glance” section with facts about physical characteristics, life span, and “personality traits.” The many vivid photographs will catch pet-lovers’ attention.

These accessible… texts include personal anecdotes, trivia (e.g., “Some potbellied pigs can be taught to paint”), and recommendations for successful pet/owner relationships. Each volume includes an “at a glance” section with facts about physical characteristics, life span, and “personality traits.” The many vivid photographs will catch pet-lovers’ attention.

Before Lunis delves into introductory facts and care requirements for these atypical companions, she employs anticipatory storytelling, discussing the antics of a particular pet. The language in these charming books is lively, describing, for example, how ferrets “pounce on loose shoes and socks, play hide-and-seek with their owners, and chase anything that rolls.” The illustrations are vivid, with photos offering some amusing shots such as in Green Iguanas where an owner is pictured walking his lizard on a leash. This series will hold readers’ attention, but also challenge them to consider the responsibilities required of owners of unusual creatures and whether these pets are the right choice. For example, readers are reminded that miniature horses need a big backyard and that potbellied pigs can suffer from boredom or unhappiness when left alone. The texts are supplemented by fact boxes and the further reading includes a link to the publisher’s webliography for each book.