The Big Pets

by Lane Smith

You've never seen pets like these before!
An enormous cat that can fly to the stars
A hamster big enough to saddle up and ride
A snake that can twist itself into a jungle gym!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Cats, Friendship, Fantasy, Dogs

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Lane Smith was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but moved to Corona, California at a young age. He spent summers in Tulsa, however, and cites experiences there as inspirations for his work, saying that "[o]nce you've seen a 100-foot cement buffalo on top of a donut-stand (sic) in the middle of nowhere, you're never the same."

He studied art in college at the encouragement of his high school art teacher, helping to pay for it by working as a janitor at Disneyland. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration, and moved to New York City, where he was hired to do illustrations for various publications including Time, Mother Jones, and Ms..

Smith is married to Molly Leach, who is a book designer and designed the Smith/Scieszka collaboration.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/lanesmith

Reviews

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite childhood books. The illustrations are my favorite part- so whimsical.

[Kaylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/3.75. Very cute. Art is interesting. Makes me want a giant cat. :)

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange and whimsical, with the most gorgeous and imaginative illustrations and ideas. I would have adored this as a child!

[Zaphod · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Big Pets" is a delightful and charming book intended for a preschool aged audience. The gorgeous illustrations invite the viewer to visit a dream world inhabited by quite normal children, and their very big pets. All the action takes place in the magical darkness of night, a sacred realm where the ordinary rules of daytime, like the parents, are absent. Children gather, riding in on their giant cats, or dogs, and play. The story centers around a small girl riding her giant cat. She goes to swim in a lake of milk, afterwards her cat licks her dry. Then she guides the reader on a tour of this mystical land.
The illustrations will enchant readers of any age, but especially younger children, and encourages their participation in the story, imaging themselves and their pets in a great adventure. Lane Smith wonderfully captures the unique and egalitarian relationship that all children have with their pets, making this a story that will definitely find a place in your heart.

[Linda Lipko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lane Smith takes the reader to a magical place where pets are large, and children are small.

The artistry of the author is incredible.

[Mya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adored the concept. Though there was something off with the execution though. However, the illustrations were marvelous.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The children are small and the pets are big. But they all play together in the Milk-Pools, the Scratchy Forest, and the place where the Stringy Vines tease. There are snakes that twist into jungle gyms, a cat that can fly to the stars, hamsters and even crickets . . . and each one has a special place where the wishes of the small children and the big pets can come true.

Imagination rules in this inviting tale sure to enthrall young readers. Fanciful illustrations complement the sparse text and join together to create this charming story.

Highly recommended.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little weird. I'm not gonna lie. As I read this, I was a little confused, but I enjoyed the trip into dream land. It was imaginative and unexpected. All in all, not a bad experience.

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

 
The pictures in this book are phenomenal. Very whimsical and dream-like.
The book itself doesn't have much of a story, it is more just a description of the world. But the book is still fascinating because of the pictures.
Great for young children, especially cat-lovers. 

[Chou Yuko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice pics and imagination rules in this inviting tale sure to enthrall young readers.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this beautifully illustrated book children's pets are very big, far bigger than usual.

[Banshees · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se lo leí a mi sobrina, le hubiera dado solo 2 estrellas pero las ilustraciónes son muy bonitas por eso le doy 3.

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in a Tim Burton dream-like place, this story imagines what a fantastical place all the children and their pets might enjoy.

[Leidy]

rtertetee

[Nitoy Gonzales · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a perfect bed time story book. It's a dream that your kids probably dreamt. The artwork of Smith really shines through as well as his imagination presented in this book.

[Melisa Fuentes Kren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Las últimas publicaciones de libros sobre michis las hice en fechas especiales, es decir, alguno de los varios días internacionales del gato. Hoy sale una breve reseña de un también breve y muy bello libro ilustrado que me regaló Susana @perrodepapel_ para sumar a la gatoteca: "Las grandes mascotas", de Lane Smith, parte de la colección "A la orilla del viento", del Fondo de Cultura Económica @fcemexico.

Esta obra fue editada por primera vez en español en 1993. En esa época tenía 11 años y me hubiera encantado leerla, porque ya tenía esa fijación, en un sentido amoroso del término, con estos animalitos. Si bien no es la única especie que aparece en el cuento, el gatote de la protagonista es quien prepondera y, además, quien abre y cierra el onírico relato. Perfecto para leer y mirar antes de dormir, y tener dulces sueños!!!

Publicado originalmente en https://www.instagram.com/p/C8LeLsNuY...

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Big Pets by Lane Smith is a story about a little girl and her journey with her big pet cat. They travel through the stars and see other children with their big pets. For example, there was a land of snakes, where the children would roll and tumble with them. The story brings a child's imagination to life as they dream. What child wouldn't want to take their pet on a journey where the pet is big instead of them? Smith's story and illustrations are simple, but it only adds to the fact that sometimes, a child's imagination is simple as well.

While this book won't become one of my favorites, I still enjoyed reading it. I liked the story more than the illustrations. For me, the illustrations were too plain and had a blocky quality to them. In some drawings the animals were sort of creepy to me, especially the snakes with the small children. Smith has illustrated quite a few books, and his style is present in this book.

The cover has the front of the big cat and his owner up in the stars. The moon has the title centered within with black text. The back cover is a continuation, where the cat's back-end is present. This shows the reader the size of the big pet compared to the girl. The end pages are grey and white, with brown stripes, giving the illusion of a tiger. The title page has the head of the cat with the little girl peeking over his head. The dedication publishing page features pictures as well. The publishing page has a road sign with signs pointing to the various areas of the dream world. The dedication page has the girl and cat looking at a map of the dream world, almost as if they are deciding where to go. There are no full-bleed images in the book, but I don't think this takes away from the illustrations for this book. The images are bordered, with a simple white backdrop. The text is black and the font only changes a couple times in the story. The illustrations are simple to me, but they do have detail. The only pet to me that didn't look like anything at all was the dog. It has a long snout with tons of teeth, and to me it looks like it could eat the owner rather than play with them. At certain points in the story the animals break the borders, especially at the end where the cat and girl break the image together, adding to the fact that the girl is dreaming and belongs to the real world with her cat. In the cat world, the moon was the cat's face and stars made up the ears and whiskers. At the end of the story, the cat sees a jug of milk up in the sky and he's licking his lips as he's looking up at it. The last image has the cat and girl asleep in the big cat's bed, with the star jug of milk empty beside them. While I found this book to not be one of my favorites, I can see young readers enjoying this book with their huge imaginations.

[Shannon Wasgatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Big Pets is about a girl and her pet cat. At night they travel to an imaginary land with other kids and their extra large sized pets. The cats get to play in big milk pools, while the dogs go to the bone garden.

The front and back cover is a wrap around illustration of the cat and the girl. They are in what looks like a solar system with stars and a moon hanging from strings. The girl is standing on a star and the cat is about to claw the moon. The cat and the girl are both looking at each other.

The end papers are a gray/ brown animal print. Three full pages in the front and three in the back are filled full bleed with this print. The title page is contains an image of the girl on top of the cat. The cat is square shaped, which frames the author and publisher at the bottom of the page. The dedication page contains a small image of the girl and cat looking at a map of the imaginary land.

The illustrations are all square with a thin black line for a boarder. There is about 2 inches of white space framing the pictures. A few pictures spread across on to a second page. The cat crosses the boarder in a few pages, causing us to extend our own imaginations and think about what else might exist in this imaginary place.

I think this book would be especially interesting to kids with pets. The reader will be able to relate to the close bond between the pets and the kids.

[Judy Lindow · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Big Pets is similar to The Wild Things. It's got the same huge headed beasts - but in this case familiar, domestic animals - and uses the context of a child's dream state to stretch imagination. I like books that help us consider animals outside of the usual "Farm" or "pet" contexts. The story and illustrations have a dark fantastical feeling - but tame, compared to anything with Neil Gaiman originality. There's nothing too scary or surprising, like Eric Carl's The Serpent Who Ate His Tail.

I debated between 2 to 4 stars. The 1st two pet experiences that include drinking the milk and enjoying the bones from another animal, gave me the creeps. Granted as a vegan I'm well aware of the dairy and meat industries that most people choose not to know about. Really, I'm on the fence with this. Do I resent that these domestic animals are included in our exploitation of other animals? Or, am I missing the point that what makes this book mildly dark - in a safe Scholastic way - is that domestic animals are reverting to their wild, feral natures during a child's dream?

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how his illations were 3D almost, in the first picture the cats ear was barely out of the box where the illustration was and it rely made it seem to pop right off the page and he seems to continue this throughout the book as well. Its a great night time book because of its very calm colors and also night setting of the book in general. The story didn't have much of a plot but I feel the illustrations are what really catches your eye in reading this book which is a good and bad thing because without the illustrations I believe the book wouldn't be that good. I loved how it went though all the different pets a child can have and not just the typically cat or dog. Pets in general can be coffering to child so I think it’s great that she include all types of pets because all are capable to make children feel save.

[Katie Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good for teaching kids that we all have differences; differences in what we prefer, like, love, have fun doing, etc. and that those differences are okay to have. We are not all the same, so children should not expect their peers to like the same things as them and become disappointed or mean in response. You could also have student connect with one another by talking about what pets they may have or what pet they would like to have. This could build on the community in the classroom and hopefully lessen or prevent any tension between students if there is any. On a tangent, you could also have a short discussion about our solar system and the galaxy we live in as there is a reference to the Milky Way.

[Amanda Stacy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Big Pets is about a small girl who travel to different places are almost plains on her big cat. The first place is a place where they can swim in and drink milk called the milky way. In the different plains they see different animals and other children playing. There are all different types of animals, such as dogs, snakes and crickets. They play with a small boy on a big dog in the bone gardens. After playing in the different places they then go home to sleep in a big basket that fits them both. The pictures and different ideas are very great with using imagination. It helps the reader learn how to be creative and use their imagination. Very short and to the point, doesnt really go into the detail.

[Megan Goss · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover looks interesting and whimsical featuring a giant cat and a little girl hanging with the stars on a string. The illustrations are framed (viewing through a window) and look like they are painted which make them appear very dream-like. Sometimes the cat breaks the frame or he is pictured outside the frame which adds even more interest to the images. The text is imaginative with words like “milk pool” and “night children.” It looks like a fun world where children play with their big pets.

[Jen Zuvella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought The Big Pets was a cute fantasy story, but I have a feeling that elementary would enjoy another fantasy story over this one. I enjoyed reading about how the little girl met other little kids with their “big” pets throughout each destination they had. Although I believe children would like to hear and see a different fantasy story, this book could keep children interested by the “big” pets. The pictures illustrate a wide variety of cats, dogs, snakes, and hamsters. This book was also a very easy read and I would recommend that you read it to first or second graders.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Es un libro que realmente me encantó! Normalmente no soy muy dada a leer literatura infantil ya que siempre orbito a los libros de adultos, pero este me atrapó con sus preciosas ilustraciones.

Me gusta mucho el que con este libro, los niños pueden dejar volar su imaginación de cómo conviven y disfrutan los niños con sus mascotas, dándoles una personalidad única y afín a sus mascotas, que disfrutan de su mundo de juegos y entretenimiento en armonía, ciertamente tiene su encanto y es ideal para los más pequeños.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not impressed with this book. The story meandered around and didn't seem to have much of a purpose or a plot. The illustrations were weird, but not in an endearing way. I thought this book needed help - it was lacking something that would have made it decent. I don't have many books written by Lane Smith I don't like, but this is one of them.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2010...

[Paul Hankins · Rating 4 out of 5]

An earlier Smith offering wherein a young girl goes out by night on her giant cat and meets other children with their giant pets. Some questions posed by Smith and the illustrations about why the children's pets opt to come to this place instead of others suggested that might be better suited for that particular animal. I just want to cut out some of these pictures and frame them for some room that could use the creativity and whimsy generated by Smith's work.

[Katie O'brien]

This is another book I never read as a kid but it is about a little girl who goes on an adventure with her big pet cat. While she's exploring she sees other children with their big pets. This book shows children that everyone is different and that our differences make us special and unique. This book promotes individuality and can be incorporated in the classroom but celebrating student's differences. The pictures are also cute and engaging, overall I think this is a great book for children.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful introduction to a writing lesson focused on dreams and imaginative writing. Perfect for the students who are passionate about their pets and connecting them to literacy through personal interests.
"I chose to read this book to you today because I love my pets and this book made me day dream about what it would be like to ride on the back of my cat to a different land" "If you could travel with your pet, where do you think you would go?"

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personally, I found The Big Pets to be similar to the story of The Wild Things with domestic pets instead of monsters. I think children would enjoy this book because if they have pets, they could use their imagination by connecting their pets with the ones in the story. However, I thought that there could be more text added because there was not a lot of information or storyline. The illustrations were great though!