Who Wants Broccoli?

PreS-Gr 2—Broccoli is a big, boisterous dog at Beezley's Animal Shelter. Despite his best efforts to show off by catching his bowl on his head, chasing his tail around, and barking loudly, he has never been picked as a "perfect pet." When he sees that a boy playing with a ball has moved in across the street, Broccoli's excited, gregarious antics lead Mr. Beezley to move his cage into the storeroom. This means that Oscar doesn't see Broccoli when he visits the shelter, and he is not interested in the small, well-behaved animals that Mrs. Beezley offers. Luckily, Oscar leaves his ball behind and when he returns, Broccoli uses his loud bark to save the day and Oscar finds his "perfect pet." The watercolor and pencil illustrations are bright and lighthearted. Some pages are fully covered and others employ a generous amount of white space, but there are opportunities to find humorous details in many scenes. Broccoli's over-the-top behaviors are likely to elicit giggles, and Mrs. Beezley's message that "there's a lid for every pot and a pot for every lid" could promote discussions around pet ownership, acceptance, family, and friendship.