Casey Wooster's Pet Care Service - Hardcover

Nichols

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689318790 ISBN 13: 9780689318795

Publisher: Atheneum, 1993

Synopsis

Casey's pet care service is less than successful in making its canine clients happy, but it does bring Casey closer to her stepbrother--who is also her business partner--and to a trip to Hollywood to visit her mother.

About this title

From Booklist:

Gr. 4-6. Eleven-year-old Casey Wooster lives in Sacramento with her father; her new stepmother, Molly; and her short, irritatingly brilliant stepbrother, Benjamin, who's younger than Casey but in her grade. Her mom, a struggling actress and Jiffy Lube mechanic, lives in Los Angeles. Casey's vacation plans change drastically when her mother says she can't afford to fly Casey to L.A. for the summer, and her father refuses to fund the trip. Annoyed and disappointed, Casey decides to earn her fare by starting a pet-care business. The results are startling: an elderly poodle dies of natural causes, Ben and Casey do lots of research on animals and plants and become friends in the process, and Casey learns some surprising things about her parents and Molly. Middle-grade readers will enjoy the story--it's funny, the characters are entirely believable, and the ending is both satisfyingly upbeat and credible. However, because the ambiguous cover illustration makes Casey and Benjamin look much younger than they are, the title will require some booktalking to reach the appropriate audience. Chris Sherman

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-6-A humorous first-person narrative with several really funny scenes. Casey Wooster needs to earn money this summer, because her actress mother can't afford to pay for her daughter's visit to Los Angeles. Casey lives in Sacramento with her father, her stepmother, and her 10-year-old stepbrother, brainy but friendly Benjamin. Determined to see her mom, she-with Benjamin's help-starts a pet care service. Most of what happens to their charges is totally unpredictable. Casey does make some money, and her father and stepmother agree to help pay for the plane ticket. A book with a similar plot-caring for other people's pets-is Constance Hiser's Critter Sitters (Holiday, 1992), although that is written for younger readers. One minor problem with this book is its dull cover, which shows Casey looking younger than her 11 years. A fun story with great chapters for booktalks.
Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0689318790
• ISBN 13: 9780689318795
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 114