When most people think of cute pets a skunk is not the first animal which comes to mind, but if you were to ask Petunia Stripes I’m sure she will gleefully list off hundreds of different reasons to why skunks are the best and cutest animals in the world. Like most children her age Petunia wants a pet to play with, but for petunia a typical cat or dog will just no suffice. She eventual asks her parents if she can get a skunk, they of course tell her no because quite frankly skunks stink. Petunia in an angry childish rant she leaves for the woods in an attempt to get her parents to give in. What will happen to Petunia while she is in the woods? Will Petunias parents get her the skunk or more importantly will they reprimand her for such a bratty attitude and reckless behavior?Paul Schmid invites us to a world which is both simplistic and full of charming girly glee. By utilizing a minimal pallet of purple and yellow watercolor, emphasizing on the negative space by leaving it a crispy white, Schmid evoke a composition which is both playful and surprisingly warm. He also enacts just the right amount of classic children illustration inspiration, for example Petunia could almost be mistaken for a peanuts character if her head wasn’t so wide and she had larger legs, feet, arms and hands. This however is not a bad thing, because although the illustrations do feel similar to things we have seen before they depict such characters in a new fresh and exciting way which, epically in the case of the animals, is adorable! The skunk is depicted so sweetly throughout the text and the dog and cat depicted in the fold of the jacket are the closest thing to gush worthy I have seen in any children’s books. Maybe it’s the characterized rough ness of his lines or the simplicity of the free flowing illustrations, but Paul Schmids work for me at least, is definitely one to take note of. However, not every section of this story is as well composed as the delightful illustrations and in fact some of the illustrations themselves are consistent with flaws. For example when Petunia has her rant she is placed on a yellow background, I understand Schmid was exclusively working in Yellow and Purple but the yellow background does not register as anger. A second visual flaw is when petunia returns home and is lying in bed with her stuffed animal a section under the stuffed animal is yellow. I believe the yellow is supposed to be the coloration of the sheets themselves but I am not one hundred percent sure and to be honest I found it slightly irritating. Another fatal flaw of this book is Petunia is never reprimanded for her actions not to say I believe she deserves a punishment but at least a slightly harsh talking too for such emotionally charged behaviors. Overall I do feel the book meets the duel audience engagement, I personally really enjoyed the book and could see many different ways of implementing such a book into the classroom. Not to mention it’s just really, really, really cute! I picked up this book because I loved the illustrations for "Perfectly Percy", plus the story sounded cute. Petunia loves skunks. She loves that their cute little noses, their stripes, and everything else about them. She desperately wants one for a pet, but her parents say no. So she decides to run away. On her way, she meets an actual skunk and boy is it stinky! So stinky in fact, that she runs all the way home. Then she realizes it was "awesomely stinky" but she'd rather have her stuffed skunk as a pet. That is until she meets a porcupine. My son loved the whole "skunks are too stinky" and it really made him laugh. Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars.
What do You think about A Pet For Petunia (2011)?
Absolutely adorable. Love that the word "lunkheads" appears in this book. Fun word.
—Stephanie
very cute- I liked the simplicity of the illustrations and I love skunks.
—cheer96
I would love this book if she did not call her parents lunkheads.
—Nick
