Description:

Cricket is looking forward to fourth grade. She is sure she will be the teacher's pet again. But Cricket is no longer the smartest student in class--not since Zoe Mitchell moved to town. Zoe wants to be friends, but can Cricket make friends with the competition?

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From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2 When Winston takes his pet rooster to school for sharing day, he neglects to bring it home that afternoon. This begins a curious pattern in his classroom. Each Monday a different child arrives with a pet, leaves it behind at the end of the day, and comes in on Tuesday with an explanation of why it is better off at school than at home. Miss Fry, who lives alone in her quiet little house, says yes to each newcomer, until her classroom is bursting with the happy noises of all the children's pets. When summer vacation rolls around, the youngsters retrieve their animals. However, one student bequeaths his cricket to Miss Fry's care. This gentle and humorous story has charming watercolor illustrations that reinforce the emotions of the children, the animals, and, of course, the warmhearted teacher. Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 2. From the first day of school to the last, students and their animal friends feel welcome in Miss Fry's classroom. Each child brings a pet from home--from Winston's rooster to Jerry's boa constrictor to Avery's choice, which looks suspiciously like a "really old kitchen sponge." The unflappable Miss Fry responds to each newcomer with her signature phrase, "How lucky for us." The children go home each afternoon and Miss Fry retires to "her quiet little house," but one by one, the pets take up residence in Miss Fry's increasingly noisy, happy classroom. Fresh and engaging, this picture book offers a gracefully written, gently amusing story with a pleasing conclusion. Hafner's distinctive ink drawings, brightened with watercolors and colored pencils, create a series of varied, inviting scenes that capture the story's buoyancy. Adults looking for a good read-aloud will echo Miss Fry's sentiment when they find this: "How lucky for us." Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved