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Which Puppy?    by Kate Feiffer & Jules Feiffer Amazon.com order for
Which Puppy?
by Kate Feiffer
Order:  USA  Can
Simon & Schuster, 2009 (2009)
Hardcover
* * *   Reviewed by Bob Walch

Word spreads like wildfire that the new First Family is in the market for a puppy and a surprising array of animals are interested in applying for the job of First Pet!

Not only do puppies from all over the U.S. and even foreign countries want to be considered for the job, but a whole range of other creatures - from kittens and guinea pigs to a turtle, skunk and raccoon - also want a crack at the prestigious position.

'We'll hold a contest to find the most presidential puppy,' announces a Basset hound from Mississippi. Thousands of dogs and other critters show up for a day of races, barking contests, and hoop jumping. Then a Neapolitan mastiff from Maryland suggests that perhaps a lottery should decide which pup is sent to the White House. But, alas, he rigs it so that he is the winner. That type of dishonesty would certainly not be accepted in the nation's capital, so he is disqualified.

Finally, three animals (two puppies and a guinea pig pretending to be a dog) are selected to go meet the Obama girls. Unfortunately, when they
arrive at the White House they discover that Sasha and Malia have already received their new pet.

Oh dear, they're too late. As they head out the door, the three dejected animals are called back by the girls. It seems there might, indeed, be a place for them but we'll keep that part of the story a secret.

Children between the ages of four and eight will be amused by all the nonsense the animals aspiring to be the First Family's pet get involved in, and they will probably be surprised by the picture book's clever ending.

Author Kate Feiffer has enlisted her famous dad, Pultizer Prize recipient and illustrator Jules Feiffer, to lend a hand with the telling of this story. His distinctive animal caricatures alone are worth the price of the book!

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