A Pet Named Sneaker (Beginner Books(R)) - Hardcover

Heilbroner, Joan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0307975800 ISBN 13: 9780307975805

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2013

Synopsis

Fifty years after the publication of Robert the Rose Horse comes Joan Heilbroner's second Beginner Book—A Pet Named Sneaker, with illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre. A madcap tale reminiscent of The Cat in the Hat, Go, Dog. Go!, and A Fish Out of Water, Sneaker is the story of a pet-store snake who longs for a real home. When he is finally adopted by Pete—a young boy charmed by Sneaker's uncanny ability to twist himself into different shapes—Sneaker not only proves himself a good pet, but proves to be a good student (sneaking into school with Pete and learning to read and write); a good citizen (saving a drowing toddler at a community pool); and a goodwill ambassador for the entire animal kingdom (inspiring the community to open the pool to all animals)! With delightfully understated, wickedly funny illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre, this is a fantastic, funny book that will sneakily get beginning readers reading on their own!

Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.

About this title

About the Author:

JOAN HEILBRONER is best known for her first book, Robert the Rose Horse, which was published in 1961. Acquired by Dr. Seuss when he was editor of Beginner Books, it has been in print for over 50 years. Her inspiration to write A Pet Named Sneaker came from her grandchildren, Quentin and Katrina, and their talented pet snake Plato. A graduate of Columbia University, Ms. Heilbroner worked as a school librarian until her retirement.  

PASCAL LEMAITRE is the illustrator of numerous books for young people, and his editorial work appears regularly in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, Time, and Print. He spends half the year in Brussels, where he teaches at Le Cambre, and half the year in Brooklyn, New York.

From Booklist:

In the tradition of misunderstood animals who just want a place to call home, meet Sneaker the snake. After being passed over at the pet store for cuter, cuddlier pets, Sneaker is finally adopted by a boy named Pete. When Sneaker sneaks into Pete’s backpack and accompanies the boy to school, he makes new friends and learns to read. A story with a communicative snake would be expected to provide ample opportunity for hissing text, but there is no such wordplay, as Sneaker only utters a single word, twice, in this Beginner Book: “Yessssss.” Instead, Sneaker lets his actions do the talking as he proves that snakes are not gross and slimy but friendly and helpful. Emerging readers may very well be encouraged by Sneaker’s classroom example as they practice their own reading skills alongside him. Lemaitre’s illustrations are reminiscent of Bernard Wabar’s style, and Sneaker is as winning a reptile as Lyle the Crocodile was before him. Grades K-2. --Kara Dean

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0307975800
• ISBN 13: 9780307975805
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Lemaître Pascal