Petunia goes wild

In the spirit of Max, in Sendak's classic Where the Wild Things Are (1963), rebellious Petunia fantasizes that she is an animal. Being human means being too careful, wearing too many clothes, staying too quiet, hearing too many hafta's. Growling and snarling, she eats her breakfast off the kitchen floor, and, as in A Pet for Petunia (2011), Schmid's spare pictures with thick black lines show a little girl in wild rebellion: bathing in a mud puddle, roaring at a passing pit bull, fuming when her parents say no. The combination of tumultuous fantasy and a cozy home setting is a winner. Just one quibble: Petunia wants to be a tiger and is shipped to Africa; let's not get young children started with that habit of naming a generic continent rather than a country.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist

In her previous book, Petunia wanted a pet, but now she wants to be one. Donning a tiger tail, she eats her breakfast off the floor, bathes in mud, and insists that her parents find her a cave. Being human is just "Too careful. Too clothed. Too combed. Too quiet." Her parents don't understand, but Petunia learns that there are a few perks to being human, after all. Schmid uses naif crayon lines to convey Petunia's gentle disobedience and frustration over life's boundaries. Readers who would rather eat under the table will find an ally in this shrewdly playful heroine. Ages 3-7. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr 2-The spunky protagonist of A Pet for Petunia (HarperCollins, 2011) returns with an existential dilemma in this unexpectedly simple yet satisfying tale. Convinced that she should have been born an animal, the precocious preschooler eats her breakfast off the floor, roars at passing strangers, and bathes in mud puddles. Her parents find her request for a cave to live in horrendous and her suggestion that she be their pet drives them to distraction. For Petunia, though, life as a human is just "too. clean. Too careful. Too clothed. Too combed. Too quiet. Too. hafta." She packages herself into a box labeled "mail to Africa." The sound of her mother singing in the kitchen causes her misgivings, and she creeps silently back to the kitchen, where milk and cookies are waiting for her. Schmid has crafted a fun, well-paced read-aloud. Though never depicted, Petunia's parents are aptly realized through their few pages of wordy counter-dialogue. Petunia, on the other hand-with her wild hair and tiger tail pinned to her striped purple dress-is adorably rendered in Schmid's charismatic charcoal drawings. The art plays a key role in the subtle sense of humor being conveyed, as when the girl peeks around a corner with just her human face and tiger tail on display. With a passionate struggle and simultaneous weakness for the comforts of being a human child, Petunia will charm children and adults alike.-Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Petunia (a human) eats off the floor and roars at passersby. When her parents decide that she needs to act human, animalistic Petunia plots an escape--then she realizes humanity has its perks. The humorous build-up is weakened by an abrupt, trite ending, but the bold line drawings with touches of purple and orange stand out for their adept simplicity. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Careful! After gobbling breakfast off the floor, growling at neighbors and bathing in a mud puddle, Petunia asks to become the family pet, helpfully holding up a leash and collar. Her parents' response suffocates an entire page, filling it with fuming type and angry large letters that gradually dwindle in size but not quantity. This visual tune-out of a parental rant works well optically and rings true to young ears, too. Schmid's suggestive charcoal drawings and purple watercolor accents enjoy lots of white space and clever compositional placement. A mellow orange highlights the animal kingdom (Petunia's pinned-on tiger tail, stuffed animals and the scrawled words MAIL TO AFRICA on a child-sized box). Her mother's singing in the kitchen draws Petunia back to her human house, but readers sense Petunia will always remain a little feral. Simple illustrations convey a simple truth: children love to run wild! (Picture book. 3-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In the spirit of Max, in Sendak's classic Where the Wild Things Are (1963), rebellious Petunia fantasizes that she is an animal. Being human means being too careful, wearing too many clothes, staying too quiet, hearing too many "hafta's." Growling and snarling, she eats her breakfast off the kitchen floor, and, as in A Pet for Petunia (2011), Schmid's spare pictures with thick black lines show a little girl in wild rebellion: bathing in a mud puddle, roaring at a passing pit bull, fuming when her parents say no. The combination of tumultuous fantasy and a cozy home setting is a winner. Just one quibble: Petunia wants to be a tiger and is shipped to Africa; let's not get young children started with that habit of naming a generic continent rather than a country. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

In her previous book, Petunia wanted a pet, but now she wants to be one. Donning a tiger tail, she eats her breakfast off the floor, bathes in mud, and insists that her parents find her a cave. Being human is just "Too careful. Too clothed. Too combed. Too quiet." Her parents don't understand, but Petunia learns that there are a few perks to being human, after all. Schmid uses naïf crayon lines to convey Petunia's gentle disobedience and frustration over life's boundaries. Readers who would rather eat under the table will find an ally in this shrewdly playful heroine. Ages 3–7. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Feb.)

PreS-Gr 2—The spunky protagonist of A Pet for Petunia (HarperCollins, 2011) returns with an existential dilemma in this unexpectedly simple yet satisfying tale. Convinced that she should have been born an animal, the precocious preschooler eats her breakfast off the floor, roars at passing strangers, and bathes in mud puddles. Her parents find her request for a cave to live in horrendous and her suggestion that she be their pet drives them to distraction. For Petunia, though, life as a human is just "too… clean. Too careful. Too clothed. Too combed. Too quiet. Too… hafta." She packages herself into a box labeled "mail to Africa." The sound of her mother singing in the kitchen causes her misgivings, and she creeps silently back to the kitchen, where milk and cookies are waiting for her. Schmid has crafted a fun, well-paced read-aloud. Though never depicted, Petunia's parents are aptly realized through their few pages of wordy counter-dialogue. Petunia, on the other hand—with her wild hair and tiger tail pinned to her striped purple dress—is adorably rendered in Schmid's charismatic charcoal drawings. The art plays a key role in the subtle sense of humor being conveyed, as when the girl peeks around a corner with just her human face and tiger tail on display. With a passionate struggle and simultaneous weakness for the comforts of being a human child, Petunia will charm children and adults alike.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI