“Not that pet!”

Smriti Halls also writes as Prasadam-Halls, and she had experience in children’s publishing and editing before she started writing her own books, which have won awards and been published in 30 languages, so far. The dual-heritage South Asian family featured here is based on her own family: Mum does wear Western clothes, but Grandma wears a sari, and Grandpa sports a very fine moustache.

The premise of this book is very similar to that in Rod Campbell’s board book Dear Zoo, but the picture book format allows for more expansion on the unsuitability of the various pets that are delivered to Mabel’s family’s house by Pete’s Pet Shop, not the zoo in this instance.  It’s definitely not to be taken seriously: we start with an elephant, and Mum wants something smaller, so we move on to ants, (though not in a vivarium, which would have been more sensible!) marching about and into Dad’s underpants. Mum then wants something they can see.  The ever-patient Pete from the pet shop looks very anxious, as well he might, after leaving them a skunk, which is, indeed, visible by day and by night. All is well until the baby startles the skunk, with anticipated smelly consequences, so now they need something that’s not afraid of the baby. A snake follows, and then quite a few other creatures, including a wolf and a hyena, which all, understandably, present their own problems. Mabel makes a list of requirements: ‘something furry and sweet, without lot of legs or gigantic great feet’, ‘not smelly or tiny or scary or spiny, not noisy… something everyone likes’. The final choice is rather unexpected- not a cat or a dog, but a rat! The rat is quite cuddly, but has pooed on the floor and seems to have fleas, so maybe that one won’t last very long either… it would be a question to ask a young audience!

Rosalind Beardshaw’s illustrations are delightful. She is excellent in portraying children of various ethnicities and has illustrated Anna McQuinn’s books about Lola and Lulu.  Mabel and her little brother are full of character, and all the animals look friendly. The image of the family in their beds on three floors of the house, as neighbours shout at them about the noisy owl, shows how the grandparents are very much part of the family, and they all have encounters with the creatures that pass through the house in their quest for something suitable.  This will be fun to read aloud, especially with a group of children who might enjoy sharing the pitfalls of each potential pet.