Katie McGinty Wants a Pet!

Katie wants a pet, but not a yucky hamster or a cat – Katie wants a zebra. Poor beleaguered Dad tries pointing out the absurdity of such a wish but Katie skilfully quashes all his objections. With a child’s simple logic, she explains that if the zebra’s cold, Granny can knit him a woolly jumper and Mummy can lend him her ski boots. When he’s hungry he can eat pizza, fish fingers and spaghetti at the table with the family and when he’s sleepy he can sleep on the bottom bunk bed in Katie’s room. Of course! We get the sense that this conversation has been going on for some time, and that patient Dad is being worn down page by page.

Wonderfully humorous and exuberant pictures show a very real and loveable zebra, complete with a myriad of expressions – joy, bliss, excitement and sheer pleasure. I particularly loved the bedroom scene where Katie and the zebra are having an intense discussion surrounded by the animal-based titles that Zebra is reading. Such closeness and connection allows us right into a child’s real need for a pet of their choosing. The colours are fresh and clear while the bold stripes of the zebra are allowed their full impact, set as they are against pale backgrounds. A winner.