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fyziksgirl's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
The most realistic of the books so far, which was nice, this managed to get a lot of civics information into a kids' book, including the importance of voting.
My biggest gripe is I don't love how it framed getting a pet as a decision with impacts for only a few months. The teacher purposely stayed out of the decision, saying it was the kids', though it will be her pet for years (if not decades, given that the choice came down to turtle or bird). I also didn't love that a criteria was that it not be loud but a bird made the cut. Perhaps I know too much about animal rescue, but a lot of birds are given up because people don't realize how messy, loud, and needy they are, nor how long they live; they think they're a simple pet who just needs a small cage like this book presents. I understand it was a plot device, and do love the way the election was done, but I wish it had been presented better to minimize unintended side effects.
My biggest gripe is I don't love how it framed getting a pet as a decision with impacts for only a few months. The teacher purposely stayed out of the decision, saying it was the kids', though it will be her pet for years (if not decades, given that the choice came down to turtle or bird). I also didn't love that a criteria was that it not be loud but a bird made the cut. Perhaps I know too much about animal rescue, but a lot of birds are given up because people don't realize how messy, loud, and needy they are, nor how long they live; they think they're a simple pet who just needs a small cage like this book presents. I understand it was a plot device, and do love the way the election was done, but I wish it had been presented better to minimize unintended side effects.
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