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Summary
Summary
A "perfect pet" story from Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Sandra is growing up on a desert ranch surrounded by animals, but she wants one to have her very own pet. A tortoise isn't really friendly, a little rabbit is too fearful, and a young coyote howls to rejoin his pack. A bobcat almost fits the bill, but soon grows too big and fierce to be a housecat. Sandra's parents let her learn for herself that these animals are best suited to the wild, though it is often hard to let them go. Finally, a smiley little stray dog finds Sandra. Sandra names the dog Susie, and the two become wonderful friends.
Author Notes
Sandra Day O'Connor was born in El Paso, Texas, attended college and law school at Stanford University, has been married to John O'Connor since 1952, and they have three sons. She was Arizona state senator from 1969-1975, and she served on the Arizona Court of Appeals from 1979-1981. Nominated by President Reagan as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, she took the oath of office on September 25, 1981, the first woman to do so.
(Publisher Provided)
Reviews (4)
Horn Book Review
Blue-eyed, curly-haired Sandra wants a pet to cuddle and love. She learns through trial and error that a tortoise, wild rabbit, young coyote, and bobcat do not make good playmates, but eventually she finds the perfect pet in the end. Watercolor illustrations in sky-blue and desert hues play up the nostalgia of the lengthy and forced text. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Growing up on a ranch in the Southwest, Sandra longs for a pet to hold, to talk to, and to take care of, but her parents are less enthusiastic. Still, when Sandra and her father find a tortoise near the road, he lets her bring it home. After learning more about how desert tortoises live, she decides to set it free. Several wild animals come and go before Sandra finds the perfect pet, a stray dog. In the second picture book based on her childhood, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor combines the story of a young girl yearning for companionship with a fine-tuned respect for the importance of returning wild animals to their natural habitats. Large-scale watercolor paintings provide vivid glimpses of the setting. Though the figure drawing occasionally looks awkward, the characters' faces are realistically expressive throughout the book. The clearly written text depicts the girl's emotions without sentimentality. A pleasing pet story with a distinctive setting and an unusual heroine.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2009 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-Sandra lives on a ranch and yearns for a pet to keep her company. Her understanding parents allow her to care for various wild creatures of the desert that need her help, including a tortoise, a wild rabbit, an injured coyote, and, finally, an orphaned baby bobcat. As she feeds and cares for each one, Sandra slowly realizes that it will be happier in its natural habitat and reluctantly releases it into the wild. Then the town grocer comes up with a good solution-a small, white, stray dog with a curly tail that needs a home. O'Connor's story is somewhat autobiographical, and the endpapers display actual photos of her, Susie, and the ranch where she lived as a child. Pohrt's realistic-looking watercolor illustrations of the Southwest are well done, although Sandra does not look much older at the end, when at least two years have passed in her search for a pet. However, the theme is a good one, with its emphasis on the fact that wild animals thrive best in the wild, and the story is well told.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The retired Supreme Court justice recounts her experiences with childhood pets in this overlong story that will not hold the interest of most children. Young Sandra is an only child living on a Southwestern ranch with her parents and their ranch hands. Though Sandra has her own horse, she wants a smaller pet that she can care for and play with. Over a two-year time frame, she cycles through various wild animals that she tries to keep as pets (a tortoise, a cottontail rabbit, a young coyote and a baby bobcat), reluctantly letting her acquisitions return to the wild as each proves to be an unsuitable pet. A local storeowner finally gives Sandra a stray dog named Susie, who satisfies the child's longing for a cuddly companion. The story is written in a detached, old-fashioned style, with little emotionor even motion itselfconveyed in either the text or Pohrt's illustrations. Life on a cattle ranch in the Depression must have been adventurous, but this interpretation lacks much excitement or novelty. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
