Rita's Rhino

January 15, 2015
Both Rita and her new pet rhinoceros-an escapee from the local zoo-learn that it's not so easy for a rhino to be a city girl's pet. Rita is rightfully annoyed when she requests a pet and Mom and Uncle Eric offer her, respectively, a flea and a tadpole. Off she goes to the zoo, where the rhino gratefully squeezes through his bars when he learns that Rita's apartment is waterproof. The wry humor continues as tiny Rita leads away the rhino without concern of discovery, as she has tossed her hat and coat over his voluminous mass. The artwork of David Small and Quentin Blake come to mind, as droll characters play out absurd situations against lively backdrops. There is no doubt that the "rhino poop" problem will elicit giggles. Perhaps the funniest scene occurs when Rita leaves the rhino outside her school, "horn stuck firmly in the ground to stop him rolling over." When asked, "Is that a rhinoceros?" she tells her nearsighted teacher, "That's my bouncy castle." Then again, it's equally funny to see the reactions of her classmates-and the rhino-to that statement. The ending, like the rest of the story, is gentle, satisfying and, of course, funny. Children's bookshelves can always use another picture book that combines a clever, well-meaning child with an animal hero and hilarious artwork. (Picture book. 3-8)

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January 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 2-Rita wants a pet and is not satisfied with the small critters her family members give her (a flea, a tadpole). Deciding to find a pet herself, she heads to the zoo. After meeting a rhinoceros there, Rita offers to bring him home to get out of the rain. She sneaks him past the zookeeper, squeezes him into the elevator, and hides him in her bedroom. Rita then learns that her new pet only eats "grass from Africa," so they head to the pet shop. Rita later takes her rhino to school, where he is ultimately forced to be a "bouncy castle." This experience prompts him to sneak back to the zoo, but he remembers Rita fondly. The loose cartoon watercolors in Ross's recognizable style are comical, especially the images of Rita trying to conceal her large pet and her efforts to dispense with the giant piles of poop every day. The quirky tone matches the ridiculous premise, and this silly story would pair nicely with Jenny Offill's Sparky! (Random, 2014) for a storytime about unusual pets. Though the ending feels abrupt, young readers will likely relate to Rita's desire for a pet and the potty humor is sure to get some squeals.-Whitney LeBlanc, Staten Island Academy, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2015
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* This extended what if? fantasy follows, in hilarious detail, what would happen if a rhinoceros lived in a modern apartment building. Rita is a little girl who lives in a city and desperately wants a pet. Her mother refuses and, in a nice bit of foreshadowing, says that pets are stinky, greedy things that have to be cleaned up after. Rita, undeterred and thinking big, visits the city zoo, has a brief chat with a rhinoceros, and convinces him to follow her home. Much of the comedy centers on the need to hide an animal as big as a tank: Rita disguises the rhino with her hat and jacket for a walk through the city streets, and covers his bulk with a tiny blanket in her bedroom. Unfortunately, it isn't easy carting rhino poop outside every day or, in the case of the rhino, pretending to be playground equipment. Finally it gets too much for them both, but the author finds a lovely way to continue their friendship. Ross' playful ink-and-watercolor illustrations bring to mind Quentin Blake or Jean-Jacques Sempe's urban New Yorker covers, but with a bulky rhino at center stage. Fans of this sure-to-charm story will want to check out other outsize comedies, like Bernard Waber's Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (1965) and Ciara Gavin's Room for Bear (2015), reviewed below.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2015
Rita desperately wants a pet, and she isn't satisfied by her family-approved options of a flea and a tadpole. So the enterprising little girl heads to the zoo and adopts a rhinoceros, which proves to be as impractical as you'd imagine. The ending is abrupt and underwhelming, but Ross's signature light-handed watercolors with lots of subtle humor pull the story through.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)