bilbopooh's Full Review: Marc Tolon Brown - Arthur and the School Pet
Around the time I hit the double digits, I developed a fascination with hamsters, cuddly little pets that spin in wheels and burrow in shavings and run around in colorful plastic pipes, chewing on the edges all night long. Yes, they had an annoying habit or two. But the irritating sound of rodent teeth upon plastic was nothing compared to the feeling of panic when one of them turned into an escape artist. Forget the old needle in the haystack; try finding a hamster in a cluttered house, and you'll be lucky not to wind up tearing your hair out. Amazingly, we always seemed to find our furry little friends, and before the cats did too, though we first had to run ourselves ragged searching for hours.
If Arthur and the School Pet, a level two Step into Reading book by Marc Brown, is any indication, gerbils are just as Houdini-like as hamsters, and it's troubled times in the Read family when the gerbil with the compulsive vanishing habit happens to belong not to Arthur or D. W. but to D. W.'s class. After D. W. volunteers to take care of the appropriately-named Speedy over Christmas vacation, she discovers that he may be little, but he's a big responsibility.
Her first discovery is that Speedy does not do any tricks - at least the ones she wants him to do. It isn't long before she finds out about his inconvenient habit of running off on her; the first instance is on Christmas morning, not a day when catastrophes ought to happen. There are indications of Christmas throughout the book: snow, a twinkling tree, Christmas cards hanging up around a room. Christmas isn't the main focus of this story, but it's definitely in the background.
It seems it would make more sense for this book to be titled D. W. and the School Pet. She's the one directly responsible for Speedy. Arthur helps her keep an eye out for him, but sometimes she stumbles upon him by herself, and she's always looking out for him. Speedy turns up in some pretty funny places, which Brown amusingly illustrates. When he disappears one more time just before the end of Christmas vacation, D. W. wonders whether her luck in retrieving him has run out.
Owners of small caged animals will likely relate to this funny story that urges responsibility and is similar to Arthur's Pet Business. None of Arthur's friends show up in this one, but they're not missed amid the chaos in the Read home. D. W. may just think twice next time she volunteers for such a mission!
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