son desip

Childrens books about kids who want pets but arent allowed them are a dime a dozen. So its a challenge to come up with a new spin on such a hackneyed  topic. Offill (11 Experiments That Failed) not only is up to the task, shes created an exceptional picture book in the process.

 The wistful girl who longs for a pet of her own isnt deterred when her mother says her only option is a creature that "doesnt need to be walked or bathed or fed." Ever resourceful, the girl does her research and orders a pet that meets her parents criteria: a sloth. The newly christened Sparky is anything but. It takes Sparky so long to fetch a ball that its owner is able to go inside and have dinner while waiting.

Its clear that the girl wants more from her pet, more than Sparky can provide, yet its also clear that a sloth is better than no pet at all. After a disastrous talent show in which Sparky fails to distinguish himself before an audience of three--the girls mother, the school crossing guard (who approves of Sparkys because he never runs in the street), and Mary Potts (a stuck-up fellow classmate with pet issues)--the young narrator makes peace with her pets limitations. The book concludes with Sparky and the girl on a branch, content to be in each others company as they appreciate the sunset.

In his first outing as a picture book illustrator, Appelhans, an animation artist, uses an understated palette to showcase Offills droll humor. Like Jon Klassen (I Want My Hat Back), he manages with a few strokes of his brush to get a lot of mileage of of a creature who shows minimal emotion. In fact, Offill and Appelhans do such a great job of making sloths appealing, their readers might pester their parents for one of their own.

Sparky!
by Jenny Offill
illustrations by Chris Appelhans
Schwartz & Wade, 40 pages
Published: March 2014