For Pete's Sake

by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Pete is sure he is a flamingo, but he cannot understand why he is green, has four feet instead of two, and has no feathers, but Pete soon discovers that he is not just another flamingo and learns what it means to fit in with friends.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Birds, Green, Friendship

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

Ellen is the daughter of Joseph Adolphus (a businessman) and Nell (Orum) Stoll; married David Albert Walsh (a professor), August 25, 1964; children: Benjamin Martin. She was educated at Maryland Institute of Art, B.F.A., 1964; attended University of Minnesota, 1966-69.
She lives in upstate New York.

Reviews

[Marya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love how Walsh doesn't spell out anything with her text. The words are from the characters themselves, so they can only reflect what the (childlike) characters know and understand. The pictures are what let the readers add their own interpretations, and the simplicity of those pictures makes it safe for those interpretations to truly belong to the child reader.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I nicer take on the Ugly Duckling... but it was quite confusing. There was no real beginning or intro to the story and then they other crocodiles were here and gone on a page. I think it could have been developed just a teeny bit more and would have rounded out the story.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kills me. I love it when the alligator wonders why he's green and not pink like the flamingos, an they tell him he's just not ripe yet. So cute.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was moving along wonderfully, then just when you think the climax is coming, it ends. What the heck? The pictures are great (collage) and the text is simple and fantastic (all dialog from the characters so the reader can interpret in a way that's comfortable for them). But, the ending comes abruptly out of nowhere and makes no sense. It leaves the reader scratching their head. The beginning is good enough that I may still use it in storytime with my preK group and ask lots of questions and have them interpret the ending together, depending on what other alligator books I can find.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pete, an alligator who thinks that he is a flamingo, worries when he begins to notice the differences between him and his flamingo friends.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sweet!

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pete's a flamingo, he's sure of that. But why is he green? Why does he have four feet instead of two? And why doesn't he have feathers? Pete soon discovers he's not just another flamingo--and he learns what it means to fit in with friends.


Subjects


Alligators -- Fiction.


Flamingos -- Fiction.


Individuality -- Fiction


Individuality -- Fiction

[Esutterlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book's cental premise and simple humor. The flamingos innocently accept Pete, a young alligator, as one of them. With no sign of predatory instincts, just a desire to fit in, Pete comes to feel at home, learning that it is ok to be himself, even if different from his friends.
Did the fact my grandchildren are crazy about flamingoes affect my book choice? Probably. :-)

[Samantha Penrose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute pictures.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book to talk a bit about colors, but it's a nice story to acknowledge differences.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pete is the alligator. He tries to be like his friends, the flamingos. His friends are always encouraging towards Pete. Pete "pops with joy" when a trio a baby alligators join the fun.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

humorous

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The name alone makes me love it. Add in a lizard that thinks he's a flamingo and you can't beat it.