Me and My Animal Friends »

RALPH COVERT is the author of the picture book Ralph’s World Rocks!, illustrated by Charise Mericle Harper, and is the Grammy-nominated creator of Ralph’s World, the popular children’s line of music which includes eight CDs and two DVDs. He can be seen regularly in his music videos on Playhouse Disney. He lives in Chicago with his family.

LAURIE KELLER is the bestselling author and illustrator of many books, including The Scrambled States of America Talent Show; Do Unto Otters, A Book About Manners; and Arnie, the Doughnut. She lives in North Muskegon, Michigan.

If you wanted a pet, if you really really wanted just the right pet, what would it be? A gecko, a goose, or a humpback whale? A Minnesota minnow or a South Dakota snail? Come to Ralph’s World and join Ralph on a zany adventure across land and water in happy celebration of animal friends of all kinds.

Kids’ rock star Ralph Covert’s playful lyrics to the popular song “Me and My Animal Friends” are coupled with Laurie Keller’s whimsical illustrations. Make sure to look for Ralph on every page: he’s in animal disguise!

Publishers Weekly

Popular kids' musician Covert (Ralph's World Rocks!) adapts another of his catchy songs in this outing about kids longing for a pet. Two children enthusiastically list the plethora of critters that would make great animal friends—“A gecko and a goose and a humpback whale”—interspersed with the attendant pleas (“Oh, please, pretty please, from the bottom of my heart to the top of my head”) and promises (“I'll be really, really good and you know I would feed 'em all day and at night I'd tuck 'em all in their beds”) one would expect. A jaunty rhyme scheme and fun wordplay (“Ocelots and lots of sloths and fleas”) keep the story bouncing, while the typography's size and color play up the pleading. Keller (The Scrambled States of America) depicts a zany menagerie in kinetic mixed media artwork that's bursting with fun details; keen-eyed readers will spot photos of Covert's face playfully worked into each spread. Keller seamlessly extends the text to create a true family dynamic, as Mom and Dad adamantly protest “Noooooo” early on, but relent in the end. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)