Bring Back My Gerbil! (Level 4)

As a librarian, I've read this book aloud to grades 1-3. My students often ask to read it aloud themselves. I have so much fun listening to them as they take turns and watching their faces as they succeed. They're so anxious to find out what happens, they zoom ahead. "Bring Back My Gerbil" makes learning to read fun for parents, teachers, librarians and, of course, kids!

Adults and children get a kick out of the humor and the little lesson in this book. The "lesson" is subtle and delivered with humor. It is a good book for discussing how the characters interact. It is short enough to be read to children or for children to read themselves. Adults and children enjoy it over and over. In addition to this easy reader, enjoy the author's talent for writing story books such as these: The Boy Who Stuck Out His Tongue (A Yiddish Folk Tale), Annushka's Voyage, The Crow (an illustrated introduction to the history of the Native American Crow Nation).

As a grandmother, greatgrandmother and retired teacher, I have read lots of books to young children. Some are boring, some are silly, some are really quite good and fun to read over and over. "Bring Back my Gerbil" is one of the latter. It is a cute story that children love and adults don't mind reading several times. There is lots of humor in it, believable children, beautifully illustrated pages, and a quirky little story that youg readers identify with almost immediately. As the author, Tarbescu has captured the essence of childhood and also managed to write a story that children from all cultures and countries can enjoy-- and from which there is a subtle message.