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PreS-Gr 2—A girl yearns for a puppy. After much anticipation, her birthday present doesn't turn out to be what she expected. With dreams dashed, she eyes her tortoise warily. Assessing the abilities of her "new lump of a pet," the feisty child discovers that he's not good at fetch, won't "beg for baloney," and doesn't "get excited when you come through the door." The pa...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

In spite of her father's allergies, the narrator longs for a puppy for her birthday. The "present with the holes in the top" looks promising, but what she finds inside is a tortoise -- and a lot of disappointment. Her dog-owning party guests are not very helpful. ("'What is that?'...'Is it dead?'") An array of spot art shows the tough start to the relationship between girl and tortoise, while lists on the refrigerator keep score: Things a Tortoise Can Do vs. Things a Dog Can Do. At an appro...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

The narrator longs for a puppy for her birthday--but instead gets a tortoise. At an appropriately slow-and-steady pace, owner an...Log In or Sign Up to Read More