Using suggestions from kids in Mexico and Argentina, Luján crafts this refreshing collection of 12 free-verse poems about children’s pets. Featured pets range from dog, cat, parakeet, bunny, hamster and turtle to the more exotic monkey and marmot. There’s a boy and his monkey who look alike, a sympathetic bunny who knows if her owner’s sad, a dog who pops soap bubbles with her tail, a growling marmot who doesn’t like poetry, a kitty who makes life “better / when things go wrong,” and Littlekins, the dog who’s “so big / that he doesn’t even fit into his name.” Abstract, whimsical illustrations in a retro palette of brown, gold, olive and aqua rely on squiggly pencil outlines to economically define details and highlight sublime and ridiculous aspects from each poem. In expressive close-ups and zany action scenes, monkey ambles down a street, cross-eyed bunny munches a carrot, tiny hamster rubs noses with a girl, parakeet surveys from his urban window and turtle bounces off the page. Poetic pet snapshots packaged with panache and translated with aplomb. (Picture book/poetry. 2-5)
