The+Best+Pet+of+All

//**The Best Pet of All **// By David LaRochelle Illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama Dutton Children’s Books ($16.99) ISBN  978-0525471295

We all know that dogs are man’s best friend, but when Mom says, “NO DOGS!”, a boy decides that maybe a dragon could be a good substitute. Getting Mom to agree is surprisingly simple, and after a day of searching and persuading, a dragon donning a pork-pie hat and sunglasses moves in to the family’s home. The dragon quickly proves to be an unpleasant addition to the family and when Mom tells the dragon it’s time to go, he shakes his head and goes back to eating spaghetti in the bathtub. The boy has a brilliant idea, however, dragons don’t like dogs, are in fact scared of dogs, and adding one to the family convinces the dragon to find a new residence. However, if you look carefully at the last page, it seems that maybe things weren’t quite as they seemed. A fun read for new readers and for parents too, this one will quickly become a night-time ritual.