Extremely well-done
The fun, informative, and graphically-appealing book of the day is "Extreme Pets!" by Jane Harrington, just out from Scholastic.
Who can resist the beautiful photographs, chapter titles like "Pocket Pets'' and "Slimy Pets,'' and the report cards (the leopard gecko gets 4 "A's and one "B'')? The writing is engaging and packs in a lot of facts, but parents must be warned.
At the end of the book is a guide to convincing your parents to get you the pet you want. It includes suggestions on how to match your plea to parental type. ("If your parent is hyper ambitious, you could have luck with ... "I went to Yale's website and saw a survey of things all the students had in common and YOU KNOW WHAT? They ALL had interesting pets when they were kids!"'