What Pet to Get?

by Emma Dodd

Shortlisted for the Booktrust Early Years Awards 2006, Dodd's book engages humorously with a perennial family dilemma.

Jack longs for a pet, something big, something exciting… like an elephant… or a lion. Mum always has a sensible argument against Jack's suggestions. Eventually he finds a solution that he thinks will be perfect, and Mum agrees – a lovely little puppy.

But what Jack chooses takes a fold-out page to illustrate, and may not be exactly what Mum had intended.

Dodd's cartoon pictures are accompanied by a text which cleverly informs young readers about the animals, suggesting the reasons for the unsuitability of each. The humour is extended by carefully concealing our view of the puppy until it's on its way home with Jack.

Publisher: Templar

Emma Dodd

Emma Dodd was brought up in Guildford, Surrey, in a family of artists. As a child she loved the work of Peter Firmin, John Burningham and Gerald Rose and from as far back as she can remember she wanted to be an illustrator.

Emma studied graphic design and Illustration at Central Saint Martin's School of Art and has worked in advertising, editorial and book illustration. She has illustrated bestselling Noisy Noisy series for Ladybird Books and, with author Giles Andreae, won a Booktrust Early Years Award in 2010 for I Love My Mummy.

Emma Dodd