Melissa's Octopus and other Unsuitable Pets

Melissa's Octopus and other Unsuitable Pets

Written and Illustrated by Charlotte Voake

Candlewick Press, 2015, Ages 3-6

Melissa, Thomas, Betty, and Arthur all have this one thing in common: they all have unsuitable pets!  All of the pets described in this story are unusual because they are too big, too messy, too free-spirited, and tend to be able to break things such as tables, ceilings, and even floors.  They are all unusual pets to have unlike having a cat or a dog as usual pet would see.

This picture books uses humor throughout the book and her words go along with the pictures so you can see a visual representation of all of the words.

The illustrations go along with all of the words of the story.  They are also bright and colorful watercolor illustrations.  The artwork will make reading this story very enjoyable because of their bright colors and shape & size.

I thought this book was very cute to use in an early childhood classroom.  I would definitely recommend this book to other because you can easily use this story in your classroom and make a whole lesson on what animals are good and not good to be pets?  You can even turn this lesson into a unit on animals and pets in general.  I would say this book would be good for ages 3-6 in an early childhood classroom.

Reviewed by Brooke M.