I am delighted to share this rhyming ABC story about the search for the perfect pet – one that doesn’t cause a little sister to sneeze endlessly. A perfect story time title!
I had intended to have my students write reviews of this book but June got ahead of us and we ran out of time. So, next best thing? I recorded our read aloud experience and am sharing the highlights here. Listen in!
Kids: “The end pages are cool! Do you know who all of those footprints belong to?”
Text: “I asked my mom if I could have a pet, or even two. But every time I brought one home, my sister went . . . ”
Kids: “A-Choo! I know it’s A-Choo! Can we do all of the sneezes if there are lots of them?”
Kids: “Is the sneezing going to be loud? My Dad sneezes really loud.”
Kids: “Some people squeak when they sneeze.”
Kids: “Read more!”
Text “ . . . . I tried a feathered Emu, plus a Ferret, Goose, and Hen. . . “
Kids: “Hey, I know what the text is doing! It’s in order! Like the alphabet! ABC order.”
Kids: “And it rhymes. On every page.”
Kids: “Let’s guess the next animals. But what starts with an I . . . ”
Kids: “Igloo!”
Kids: “That’s not an animal! I don’t even know any . . .
Note: The authors introduce us to an Ibis which is a gorgeous long beaked black and white bird. We looked it up!
Kids: “Is the sister allergic? Is that why she sneezes?”
Kids: “Yes, that’s what the book is about.”
Kids: “Maybe she is just sick?
Kids: “No she’s allergic. But can you be allergic to everything like fur? hair? feathers? claws?”
Kids: “Not claws!”
Our conversation then took us on a tangent about what kids are allergic to with animals. Scales? Spit? Snot? Fleas? Sweat? A fascinating topic for 7 and 8 year olds!
Kids: “Can we read?”
Text: ” . . . . . . . Umbrellabirds, and Vultures’ wings caused one big . . . “
Kids: “There are so many birds! Hold on if there are vultures did something die?”
Kids: “Gross! What?”
Kids: “Just read!”
Text: “A Warthog, Weasel, and a Wolf, a Xantis I named Jack, a Yaffle and a Zebra too, I had to take them back.”
Kids: “I don’t even know what a Yaffle is! What is a yaffle?”
Note: A yaffle is a green European woodpecker. We looked that up too! And if you also didn’t know ( as we didn’t) a Xantis is a kind of yak!
We won’t spoil how this ends but suffice it to say this title has huge kid appeal – lots of joining in, lots of guessing and lots to talk about. I imagine this book would have been very popular for buddy reading if we had had extra time in the year! It will go in the buddy reading bin for September!
Ah-Choo! is written by Lana Wayne Koeler and Gloria G. Adams with illustrations by Ken Min (Sterling Children’s Books 2016)
Thank you to Ardi from Sterling Publishing for a review copy of this title.
Looking for more pet books to share? Some books that would love to be read along side this title.
One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail
Prudence Wants a Pet written by Cathleen Daly and illustrated by Stephen Michael King
Spare Dog Parts written by Alison Hughes and illustrated by Ashley Spires
A Pet for Petunia by Paul Schmid
If I Had a Gryphon written by Vicki VanSickle and illustrated by Cale Atkinson
The Pet Project Cute and Cuddly Vicious Verses written by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by Zachoriah Ohora
There's a Book for That 
Love the conversation and the ACHOO! book. Also great list of pet books. I’d add I WANNA IGUANA and I WANT A PET by Lauren Child. Thanks for sharing these!
I love both of these titles!
Awwww! This is as good as your photos of your students. I love hearing their voices!
Pretty cute!
Thank you for your kind words about our book. We’ve enjoyed sharing it with children, but your group was particularly talkative! I especially liked the idea of asking for other things that we might be allergic to–snot caught my eye right away! Great job!
Definitely a talkative group! We really enjoyed this title!