Jo is a little girl of five or six who “wanted a dog more than anything else in the whole wide world.” Her reluctant parents won’t agree to a dog, but they do allow first a mouse, then visits from the neighbor’s rabbit and guinea pig, and then the acquisition of a cat. After the arrival of a baby brother, Jo manages to add additional small pets as the household gets more and more out of control, until at last Grandma arrives to help with the baby, bringing along a puppy for Jo. Henderson tells the story partly in rhyming text and partly in straight narration, interspersed with a repeated refrain about each pet not being quite the same as the longed-for dog. The illustrations are in a refreshingly naïve style using watercolors and colored pencils, and the artist effectively captures both the charming child and her rapidly expanding menagerie. (Picture book. 3-6)
