The Classroom Pet

First-Grade Friends

by Grace Maccarone

The students of the first-grade class are horrified when Sam accidentally loses the class pet, a hermit crab, in a whimsical early reader story by the author of Itchy, Itchy Chicken Pox. Original.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, 1st Grade, Fiction, School, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Grace Maccarone is an American children’s book editor and author, notably of Miss Lina’s Ballerinas, illustrated by Christine Davenier, and its sequel Miss Lina’s Ballerinas and the Prince. She has also worked as an editor at Scholastic, Wireless Generation, and currently Holiday House.

Reviews

[Whitney Leanhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book because it was a quick read with fun experiences. The author did a great job depicting a story filled with adventure of a student and the class pet. Although pets can be fun, you could also lose them in your house as well and find them where your not expecting them.

[Caitlyn Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very easy to read and easy to understand. I think it would be a good book for younger children to read and, it would be good to use to help teach responsibility!

[Sydney Bolton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and it is a nice resource for teaching children responsibility.

[Dalton Prather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basic. Simple.

[Heather Utley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so much more coherent that 90% of the early readers marketed to kids. I think that may mean trust Scholastic.

[Brooklyn May · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Classroom Pet is a relatable, sweet book that is easy enough to read for even the most inexperienced readers. In short, it is mainly about the experience of getting to take home a classroom pet and the fun that ensues along with the privilege. It takes parents back to the time when they had a class pet, and gives the children something to look forward to as they progress in school. The most appealing part of this story, however, is the readability. In the scholastic reader program, it is considered a level one book. Therefore, it could be easily read by first graders, or even advanced kindergarteners.
The illustrations in this book are simple, yet convey the story in an effective matter. The illustrations are not detail oriented; many things are left open for interpretation. It seems like only the very important things are drawn in great detail, and the extraneous details are not developed highly. The colors in this book are muted. While a myriad of colors are used, none are very bright. They are muted tones of what could be bright colors. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to a teacher who is teaching her students to read or parents who need an easy read for their children.

[Shelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Classroom Pet, written by Grace Maccarone and illustrated by Betsy Lewin, is a beginning reader picture book about first-grader Sam who gets to take home one of his class's pets over Christmas break. He gets to take Star, their hermit crab. The story describes his adventures trying to keep track of Star. Not a bad book, but I'm not a first-grader either. The vocabulary is simple and the sentences are short for beginning readers.

Themes: Pets; Caring for Animals; Responsibility

Ways to use this with children:
*This would be a good option for a reading center where there are books of differing levels.
*Have a struggling reader read this to a younger child to get practice.

Additional Info:
Contains "Fluency Fun" section at the back with words that have the same sounds.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story that most students could probably relate to: having a classroom pet. It is best for young children. There is a simple rhyming technique in the writing style to get students introduced to this concept. Students can also practice predicting at multiple times in the story.

[Emma Jeffries]

With this book, students have a chance to connect to the book and to learn how to read better. Its rhyming technique draws kids in and makes it a fun book to read.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for beginning readers. Awesome story line.

[kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For children in K and 1st grade.

[Leyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the stories of this series. This one had more depth than yesterday's. I still like the fact that the characters are the same every time.