Let's Get a Pup! Said Kate

This book was great on so many levels. First, EVERYONE in our home liked it: we are ages 65, 40, 35, 10, and 5! The details in the pictures drew us all in. Secondly, the story is filled with love - parents for their child, a child for her pets, the parents for the plight of homeless animals, and more. Thirdly, the family looked like lots of parents I see at my kids' schools these days. That's why I bought one for the school library. It must be nice for kids to see parents in books that actually look like their own. Fourthly, it showed the family relaxing while watching TV together. I am pretty anti-TV, but this book unapologetically illustrated the truth that people do watch TV, and at least this family was viewing together and looked relaxed and happy. Fifth, the book has lots of humor. (PS. I agree that the Dad's t-shirts reflect his emotions for the most part, but what's the deal with the soccer shirt that shows an awful lot of grass? And I think the Mother might have had birth control pills in the bedside drawer, but that's a good thing! Anyway, I really liked this book.)

The image on the dad's shirt is NOT a cigarette (in fact, the mom sports an anti-smoking t-shirt in one illustration), it is a match which changes form in accordance with his feelings/state-of-mind. It is lit when he goes to the shelter to adopt a pup; the flame is extinguished when he leaves poor Rosie behind in her cage; and then it changes into a lit lightbulb ("eureka!")when he returns to rescue Rosie.As for the young couple having tattoos and piercings--this fits in perfectly with the book's theme, which is that we should appreciate beings for who they are on the inside, rather than judge them for what they look like on the outside.This is a beautiful book that has won a slew of awards and special mentions. Highly recommended as a means of teaching empathy and acceptance.

My grandson and I adore this humorously poignant story of love between humans and canines. It makes me laugh, but I also get a little teary. The illustrations are just plain wonderful--endearingly chunky parents with tattoos and nose rings. I love it!

This wonderful book won the 2002 Boston Globe - Horn Book picture book award and for good reason. Brimming with love and appeal, this charming story will tug at your heartstrings and remind you of how pets adopt us as much as we adopt them, and how they return with gratitude the love and comfort that we give them.Here is a *real* family, with children's drawings taped up around the house and the occasional sock hanging out of a drawer. The love and caring that the family members feel for each other is palpable. As for the dad's shirts, they often reflect his mood: the shirt bearing the image of a lit match changes to an extinguished one when the family wistfully leaves the shelter without Rosy. And when the family hits upon a new idea, the dad's shirt shows a lit bulb. As for messages, in one scene, the mother is wearing a shirt with the familiar "No Smoking" image of a red line through an encircled cigarette. Bob Graham is a warm, sincere and caring man (and father) who would *never* send unhealthy messages in his work.

This is a wonderful book for everyone -- parents, kids, dog lovers, humane society volunteers. And that picture? Look carefully -- I think you will see it is a match, not a cigarette.