"The man liked watching the sunrise.
So did the dog.
The man like gardening.
So did the dog.
The man liked taking walks.
So did the dog.
RUFF"
Don't miss the endpapers - both front and back! Ms. Pham captures readers' attention from start to finish with her inviting details and visual storytelling. In the beginning, she allows her audience to see the man's journey from the plant shop to his home, and his disdain for all manner of animals he sees along the way.
He climbs the stairs to his apartment building, plant in hand, to enter his tidy home, put on his apron, and get to the work of making it even tidier than it already is. So neat, no animals in sight. It's life as he wants it to be. The appearance of a cat has him doing his best to get rid of it. The cat won't go.
There were things he liked about the cat: sleeping in the sun, watching the rain, eating dinner at exactly 6. That cat no longer seemed such a nuisance. Perhaps, it could stay. The same thing happened with a bigger cat, a huge dog, a smaller dog. Each is given a name (Eli, Ivan, Emily, Isabelle), and they are content.
What are they to do with ducks, chickens, goats, pigs, and three cows that arrive in quick succession? The man's poor neighbors bring crankiness to his apartment, complaining about all the noise and the farm-like atmosphere that is now his apartment. It's time for a change. Gathering all of the animals together, he sends them on their way.
He cannot abide the loneliness of it all.
"WAIT! he called."
I bet you didn't guess that his surname is MACDONALD, did you? So, now you know the rest of the story, and what a story it is.
Finally, readers come to the back endpapers filled with charm and delight.
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