The Big Pets - Hardcover

Smith, Lane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670833789 ISBN 13: 9780670833788

Publisher: Viking Juvenile, 1991

Synopsis

A little girl explores the mysterious dreamworld where small children play with their big pets, which range from cats and dogs to snakes and crickets

About this title

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 2-- Lane presents a surrealistic dreamscape--a curious look at a land where large-scale creatures--cats, dogs, hamsters, snakes--romp with their pet-sized children in surroundings peculiar to the animal's own pleasures. Cats play near a large Milk-Pool, dogs frolic in the huge Bone Gardens, Hamster Holes provide a playground for the furry rodents, and snakes roll and tumble at the Grassy Plains. The brief text is more a mood piece than a story. It sets the scene and acts as a showcase for the illustrations. The wonderfully strange paintings--akin to those in The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (Viking, 1989)--show huge animals that dwarf their young owners, a dog with a dinosaur face, a Milky Way full of paperlike stars suspended from strings, hanging balls of yarn, and cat and milk pitcher constellations. The appealing cover twinkles with stardust. Although the whole may be a bit too fantastic and sophisticated for some readers' tastes, this glimpse at dreamland is out of this world. --Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

"The girl was small and the cat was big," begins a bizarre nighttime journey during which small children and their giant pets frolic somewhere in the dreamy heavens. The girl and her oversize cat are joined at the Milk-Pool by other happy felines, who lap milk as the children swim. Dog fanciers flock to the Bone Gardens, where friends and pets dig for fossils; Hamster Holes are the favorite haunt of hamsters and their owners, who take turns popping in and out of the ground. Told in a simple, straightforward style, this fantastic story is enhanced with dark, jewel-like paintings that exhibit an almost phosphorescent glow. Smith's ( The True Story of the Three Little Pigs ) sophisticated illustrative technique has mellowed handsomely. His use of collage has been minimized, and his attention to content and dimension have resulted in enticing illustrations that provide the perfect landscape for this nocturnal romp. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Juvenile
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0670833789
• ISBN 13: 9780670833788
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32