Lizard from the park

Title:

Author:

Pett, Mark, author, illustrator.

Personal Author:

Pett, Mark, author, illustrator.

ISBN:

9781442483217

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 23 x 29 cm

Abstract:

When a lizard hatches from the egg Leonard finds in the park, he names it Buster and takes it all around the city, but Buster grows bigger and bigger until Leonard realizes he must devise a way to return his pet to the deepest, darkest part of the park and set him free.

Reading Level:

Ages 3-7.

Subject Term:

Dinosaurs as pets -- Juvenile fiction.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Ginter Park	Book	PICTURE PETT	Searching... Unknown
Searching... North Avenue	Book	PICTURE PETT	Searching... Unknown
Searching... West End	Book	PICTURE PETT	Searching... Unknown
Searching... West End	Book	PICTURE PETT	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A lonely boy's new pet grows into a rather large dilemma--and a Thanksgiving parade offers an uplifting solution--in this charming tale from the author of The Boy and the Airplane and The Girl and the Bicycle .

When Leonard takes a shortcut through the park, he finds an egg and takes it home, where it hatches into a lizard (or so Leonard thinks). Leonard names his new pet Buster and takes him all around the city: on the subway, to the library, to a baseball game, and more.

But Buster keeps growing and growing--and Leonard gets the sense that Buster is longing for something Leonard can't provide.

Before long, Buster becomes too big to keep, and Leonard realizes he needs to set Buster free. So Leonard comes up with an inventive plan, one that involves all the balloons Leonard can find and the annual Thanksgiving parade, in an imaginative plot twist that will spark readers' imaginations--and touch their hearts.

Reviews (2)

Horn Book Review

In the "deepest, darkest part of the park," Leonard finds an egg that hatches Buster, who outgrows the boy's urban environment and whom Leonard eventually returns home via creative means. While we've seen dinosaur-as-pet picture books before, Pett's stands out for its understated storytelling and refined digitally painted charcoal illustrations with pleasingly subtle details set amid New York City landmarks. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

The tale of a sizable sidekick for one competent kid. Leonard, a curly-haired, brown-skinned little boy, finds an egg in the park one day and takes it home to his apartment on the top floor of a tall building. In the morning, Leonard witnesses his "lizard" busting out of its egg, prompting the name "Buster." Though a trusty companion who accompanies Leonard on all of his jaunts around the city, the lizard soon grows to a problematic size. The annual parade (with floats like those in Macy's Thanksgiving Parade) offers just the opportunity Leonard needs to find his buddy a new home. Pett's simple and sparse illustrations focus on Leonard and Buster by illustrating the pair in bright colors and other people and objects along the city streets in grayscale or dull colors. This highlights the book's amusing irony: despite the presence of a large green dinosaur in a busy city, nobody pays any attention to Leonard or Buster. In fact, Leonard roams the city from day to day without interruption or attention from parents or other interfering adults. He solves his own problems and takes care of the pet he has acquired of his own volition. As independent as Max and Ruby, as creative as purple-crayon-wielding Harold, and as dedicated a friend as Charlotte's Wilbur, Leonard will delight kids of all ages, regardless of habitat. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.