A Pet for Petunia audiobook

Charming! This is a really fun book to read aloud. It’s also amusing, hilarious in spots.The purple and black and white illustrations are very appealing, and I love how stripes make many appearances. Petunia sure is persistent. Some will think she’s annoying but for the most part I thought she was cute, and I think kids will certainly identify with her yearnings. I would definitely have understood Petunia, what with growing up in an apartment that didn’t allow dogs or cats and always wanting a dog, or a cat.I like that without hitting the reader/listener over the head with the message, it comes across clearly that wild animals don’t make the best pets.Ages 3 to all the way up, but I’d think it would be especially fun for 4-7 year olds. This book is great for reading aloud and also for young independent readers.5 stars from my younger self.

When I was in ninth grade or so I learned that a fellow classmate owned a pet skunk. I joke not. Apparently these things do happen. While not strictly domesticated, it is possible to remove the scent glands from the animal, rendering it relatively harmless (teeth and claws aside). This was a good thing since if you grow up in Michigan you're pretty much guaranteed to know the stink of the skunk (hopefully not firsthand). I assume that there must be kids in the world who don't know this particular olfactory pleasure. And skunks, when viewed from a safe distance in a photo or a picture, are rather adorable looking. A Pet for Petunia is sort of made for both those kids who may be a bit unaware of the downside of skunk ownership and those others who are already in on the joke. Kids ask for all kinds of crazy pets. Few requests, however, are quite as uniquely skewed as those that involve animals that can turn you on to the wonders of tomato soup baths. In a field of I-want-a-pet-book A Pet for Petunia stands alone.To know Petunia is to know her obsessions. And one obsession that Petunia is currently harboring is an overwhelming, almost incalculable desire to own a very particular animal as a pet: a skunk. Boy, she'd just do anything for a skunk. And when her parents tell her in no uncertain terms that this plan will not be happening their answer seems insufficient to her. Skunks stink? Clearly there's a bit of parental prejudice at work here. After storming out of her house ("naturally Petunia must leave home") as luck would have it she encounters her very own, one-of-a-kind, skunk! A real one! Yet as the age old adage says, be careful what you wish for. Sometimes you might just get it.The book is written entirely in the present tense, which I found interesting. At first I wasn't quite certain why this was. Then I got to the moment when Petunia hears her parents say that skunks stink and launches into an offensive. The book goes from one sentence per page to about twenty-two sentences on a single page. I realized that sentences like "I bet Katie's parents would get HER a skunk!" what the story sounded like. "A Pet for Petunia" is similar in many ways to the old Mo Willems tale Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Or, even more on the nose, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy. This means that the book may be perfect for readalouds to large groups of kids. I haven't tested it out myself but I bet that a creative reader could have a lot of fun not only with Petunia's somewhat familiar pleas, but also the book's cute twist at the end.Because Mr. Schmid is both the author and the illustrator, he's allowed to have complete creative control over what the text of his picture book says as well as what it shows. So when I first started to read the book and hear Petunia's pleas, I suffered a very brief moment of confusion. Here you have Petunia, desperately pleading with her parents for a pet skunk while all the time there appears to BE a small purple collared mammal in her possession with a distinctly skunk-like appearance. As you go through the book you come to the realization that this is just a stuffed skunk. It doesn't seem to have much initial influence over the plot until you get to the end of the book. Then the stuffed pal takes on a great deal of importance. That's the kind of thing that Schmid the author would have had to have explained to Schmid the illustrator if he'd ended up being two people. As it stands, the stuffed "pet" isn't even really mentioned in the text directly. It's useful since it gives Petunia someone to discuss things with aside from her parents, but you could certainly excise it from the narrative if you were to rewrite the book.It's also fascinating to think that in this book, Schmid has turned the child reader into the ultimate authority: the parent. Maybe kids reading this book know that skunks stink and maybe they don't, but the way Schmid has drawn the images he has Petunia plead her little purple heart out to you, the viewer. She's looking right at you. She's making her pro-pet pitch to you. And when the parents respond, you don't see them at all. All that happens is that the page goes entirely purple with a single sentence on it. " `They stink', say her parents." It's almost as if the reader is telling Petunia this. Kids love being placed in a position of authority and they especially like to deny characters in the same way that they themselves have been denied. Schmid taps into that strange bit of schadenfreude. All power to him.The use of color is almost entirely inspired (with the exception of one little picture). For the most part you're dealing with the thickly penciled Petunia in black with her watercolored purple stripes against a pure white background. A little shot of yellow watercolor will highlight some minor detail; A baseball or a flower in a vase. Then comes the moment when the parents inform Petunia in no uncertain terms that skunks stink. All at once her background goes a yellow/brown color so as to best depict her horror at her parents' prejudices. All this works very well in the context of the book. Then you get to an odd selection when Petunia has finally sniffed a skunk at a relatively close range and has run hell-for-leather back to the safety of her bedroom. Once in the bedroom she discusses the stinkiness of the skunk with her stuffed one, but for some reason Schmid has colored the bedspread yellow in this section. Not the whole bedspread, mind you, but a little section near the little skunk. Coming so close on the heels of the stink section, it's hard to look at these pictures as anything but a moment when the stuffed skunk, by some miraculous means, has peed on the bedspread. Mind you, I have a filthy mind so it's possible that no one else would see this, but if I know kids there may be a bit of confusion with this section.Of course skunks don't constantly stink. We can just assume that the skunk in this tale recently got somebody and maybe that accounts for why it has remained stinky. Put that theory into practice and you have a fun little book about a failed child manipulation. You might want to consider pairing it with other I-want-a-pet picture books out there. Books like Wanted: The Perfect Pet and maybe a chapter book like A Room with a Zoo (which somehow manages to include every conceivable pet EXCEPT for skunks). Yet by itself, A Pet for Petunia stands on its own. Fun book. Fun art. A good potential storytime text. And perfect for the kid that's obsessed with skunks (they exist) nothing else will do. Who knew skunks could be so charming?For ages 4-8.

The perfect story for any child who has always wanted a pet but was told no. Petunia wants a pet skunk. She promises to take good care of it, but her parents still say no. After she has a meltdown on a page where she screams and says her parents don't love her, she decides to run away. She runs into a real skunk and finds out how stinky they really are. Still, she giggles and wants that skunk! Until, she decides another animal would be the perfect pet. (love the picture of the porcupine!)The illustrations are sparse with simple colors of lavender and black using plenty of white space. The text gets large when Petunia yells- perfect for showing her anger.

At 10:30 am on Monday, May 9th, I conquered one of my greatest fears --- story time at the bookstore.Of the three books I read (this, I Must Have Bobo, and The Pigeon Wants a Puppy), the crowd, by which I mean approximately 8 toddlers and 6 adults, liked Petunia best by far. I thought the book was adorable and funny to begin with, but now that I get to associate it with MY OWN COURAGEOUSNESS, I like it all the more!

This was a really funny book. However, Petunia would give the younger students so pretty iffy ideas...

An absolutely adorable tale. Petunia wants a pet skunk more than anything, but her parents say NO - it's too stinky!This was a great storytime read. Kids immediately knew that a skunk was stinky, so it was easy to ask them why Petunia's parents would say no to a skunk. There was plenty of nose pinching when we read about the big, humongous STINK. I had intended to actually bring a clothespin and pinch my own nose at the end but alas, forgot that part. I think it would have been a hilarious addition.The story lent itself extremely well to a dramatic reading aloud, especially as Petunia is outraged over being denied the pet skunk. The more exaggerated, the better.

A Pet for Petunia by Paul SchmidA very cute book about wanting something and not seeing the truth because of your desire. This is a lesson for kids wrapped in a familiar connective power. The moral of the story you don't always get what you want, and sometimes when you get it there is something else you want even more dangerous. Petunia wants a pet, she will accept nothing less than a skunk, but she would not believe that they have a single flaw. She wants what she wants, and when she gets it she finds value in the the flaws.

This book is too cute. Your daughter wants a pet.She begs and begs for a pet. Promises shell feed it. Promises shell walk it. And so you agree to get her a pet. But she leaves out just one tiny detail.. she wants a skunk.This book would be great at story time. It does a great job at teaching children that if you want something bad enough, you'll more then likely get it.

SO cute. Petunia loves skunks, and want's one for a pet. When she encounters a real skunk in the woods, will she still feel the same?

Super for storytime

When most people think of cute pets a skunk is not the first animal which comes to mind, but if you were to ask Petunia Stripes I’m sure she will gleefully list off hundreds of different reasons to why skunks are the best and cutest animals in the world. Like most children her age Petunia wants a pet to play with, but for petunia a typical cat or dog will just no suffice. She eventual asks her parents if she can get a skunk, they of course tell her no because quite frankly skunks stink. Petunia in an angry childish rant she leaves for the woods in an attempt to get her parents to give in. What will happen to Petunia while she is in the woods? Will Petunias parents get her the skunk or more importantly will they reprimand her for such a bratty attitude and reckless behavior?Paul Schmid invites us to a world which is both simplistic and full of charming girly glee. By utilizing a minimal pallet of purple and yellow watercolor, emphasizing on the negative space by leaving it a crispy white, Schmid evoke a composition which is both playful and surprisingly warm. He also enacts just the right amount of classic children illustration inspiration, for example Petunia could almost be mistaken for a peanuts character if her head wasn’t so wide and she had larger legs, feet, arms and hands. This however is not a bad thing, because although the illustrations do feel similar to things we have seen before they depict such characters in a new fresh and exciting way which, epically in the case of the animals, is adorable! The skunk is depicted so sweetly throughout the text and the dog and cat depicted in the fold of the jacket are the closest thing to gush worthy I have seen in any children’s books. Maybe it’s the characterized rough ness of his lines or the simplicity of the free flowing illustrations, but Paul Schmids work for me at least, is definitely one to take note of. However, not every section of this story is as well composed as the delightful illustrations and in fact some of the illustrations themselves are consistent with flaws. For example when Petunia has her rant she is placed on a yellow background, I understand Schmid was exclusively working in Yellow and Purple but the yellow background does not register as anger. A second visual flaw is when petunia returns home and is lying in bed with her stuffed animal a section under the stuffed animal is yellow. I believe the yellow is supposed to be the coloration of the sheets themselves but I am not one hundred percent sure and to be honest I found it slightly irritating. Another fatal flaw of this book is Petunia is never reprimanded for her actions not to say I believe she deserves a punishment but at least a slightly harsh talking too for such emotionally charged behaviors. Overall I do feel the book meets the duel audience engagement, I personally really enjoyed the book and could see many different ways of implementing such a book into the classroom. Not to mention it’s just really, really, really cute!

Featured at An Abundance of BooksPetunia likes skunks.No, that's not exactly right.Petunia LOVES skunks!Petunia can think of nothing better to have than her very own pet skunk. Using her toy skunk as a model, she extolls the the virtues and cuteness of skunks. They have stripes, big black eyes, and cute little noses!She tells her parents how responsible she'll be. She'll feed it everyday, take it for walks, read stories and draw pictures with it, and clean it's litter box every hour even! Petunia is aghast when her parents say no to such a perfect pet.When they explain that skunks stink, Petunia goes on an indignant tirade worthy of the Pigeon himself. She's wonderfully outrageous and everything she says will be very familiar to parents. She talks about how the situation stinks, how she needs a pet skunk and will die if she doesn't get one, they said no to the python and now the skunk, and even asks "Why did I have to get born into THIS family?" Petunia decides to take matters into her own hands."With such disappointing lunkheads for parents, naturally Petunia must leave home."She heads for the woods and wanders around where she briefly considers being eaten by bears. During her wanderings she stumbles upon the object of her obsession. The skunk was black and white, and had a cute little nose, big black eyes, stripes… She gives a little gasp of joy and then smells "the worst smell she has ever smelled in her whole entire life."It is not a small smell.It is not even a big smell.It is a STINK!Petunia immediately runs home with tears flowing from her eyes. Eventually she recovers from the shock of the skunk's stink and declares them "AWESOME!" That's right, skunks are awesomely stinky. But she looks down into the eyes of her faithful toy skunk and "decides that she already has a perfectly awesome pet."I am completely in love with Petunia. She's full of sass, energy, dramatics - she's Olivia and the Pigeon rolled into one skunk loving package! A Pet For Petunia is so wonderfully exuberant and bouncy, there's no way you can calmly read this book. Kids will love Petunia's over the top attitude and absurdly poor choice in pets. Schmid's cheerful illustrations are simple using only black, white, lavender, and the occasional yellow highlight. He captures his Petunia's vivacious attitude and skunks have never looked cuter or more snuggly!Read full review HERE

A few years ago, kids were obsessed with penguins. Not practical as pets, but no doubt common items on Christmas wish lists.Petunia has a different black and white critter in mind: a skunk. Schmid writes, "Petunia wants, wants, wants! a REAL pet skunk." And Petunia is a persistent child. Parents and children will be able to relate to the pet-begging pitches and promises. If Petunia gets a skunk, it will surely be one pampered pet. But Petunia's parents hold strong, daring to assert that skunks stink.Petunia's ensuing verbal tantrum is the highlight of the book. (Too many of us will see ourselves in petulant Petunia.) She decides to run away and you can guess what she encounters in the woods.The simple, amusing black and white illustrations are adorned with splashes of purple and the odd dash of mustard yellow. They are just enough to move the story along. It's Schmid's word choice and phrasing that truly stand out.While I rarely review books with female protagonists, boy readers will easily connect to Petunia and their own imaginations are likely to be sparked by thoughts of an ultra-stinky pet. Penguins? Yawn. Pigs? Phooey! The skunk's the thing.Follow my Boyz Read blog at http://boyzread.blogspot.com/.

Oh Petunia, how I can relate. I wanted a monkey for a pet, but my parents always said no-how mean! Any child who has longed for a pet, unconventional or otherwise, will relate to Petunia's plight. She begs her parents for a pet skunk, she promises to feed it, and gushes over how cute they are. But Petunia is in for a surprise. Readers of course, know that skunks are stinky and that it's not the kind of pet Petunia would want, which makes the book that much more fun-kids are in on the joke from the start. Petunia's voice is perfect-when she gets mad at her parents, she decides to storm off and mutters how mean they are which is sure to have kids are parents laughing. The artwork is all black and purple, which reminds me a bit of the Olivia books, with it's simplistic color palate. I think Olivia fans would get a kick out of Petunia-Olivia and Petunia remind me a lot of each other. I would even try A Pet for Petunia is a preschool storytime-it could be a great read aloud. A fun addition to "I want a pet" picture books!

You may be thinking, Not another pet book! While the premise is unoriginal, I find the dialogue authentic, spunky, and fun. You can't help but be drawn to Petunia and her request for a pet. Another element I am attracted to is the character's name- Petunia. I also like her choice of pet- a skunk. I already imagined all sorts of fun problems with having a pet skunk, but author Paul Schmid took a different approach and kept it simple with one encounter with the skunk. A cute book that stays true to the heart of a child.I originally rated this book 4 stars but after re-reading it, I admired Schmid's skill as a writer/illustrator. His pacing is wonderful, word choice succinct. There is a page that is full of text, but it was cleverly planned. I loved this book the second time around. Just goes to show that these book ratings are subjective and sometimes dependent on the reader's mood for the day.