Dino-Pet: If I Had A Raptor by George O'Connor

IF I HAD A RAPTOR, I'D WANT TO GET HER AS A BABY, WHEN SHE'S TEENSY AND TINY, AND FUNNY AND FLUFFY.

I WOULD GIVE HER A LITTLE BLUE BELL.

And it's a good thing our little would-be pet owner has that bell handy!

She finds her ideal pet with its litter mates in a cardboard box marked FREE RAPTORS. It's blue and furry and cuddly, and just as she'd hoped, it likes to snuggle on her lap and sun herself on the windowsill.

Just like most new pets, her baby blue raptor is a night owl, playing around "like crazy" at night and waking her up at ungodly hours of the morning so that they see a lot of sunrises together. She makes it no secret when she's hungry, but she's not above walking away from her dish, nose in the air and tail swishing, if she's not pleased with the entree.

But unlike most kitties and puppies, raptors grow and grow and GROW.Our girl has to fetch some lopping shears from the garage to trim her long claws and teach her where it is NOT a good idea to sharpen them. And that blue bell around her neck warns the birds and other potential prey when the raptor goes out for a bit of stalking practice.

But this raptor is always ready for a hug, in George O'Connor's  If I Had a Raptor (Candlewick Press, 2014).  This furry, fluffy raptor's behavior bears a close resemblance to that more common household predator pet, the cat, and ever since Syd Hoff's Danny and the Dinosaur strolled through town, kids have dreamed of a dinosaur pet, and author O'Connor obliges with a clearly fanciful dino and a young pet owner who is just as doting and delightful as can be. Artist O'Connor provides plenty of visual humor in the illustrations, while his pom-pom ponytailed pet owner shows just how it's done. Publishers Weekly gives this one a starred review, with words of high praise, saying it "strikes an ideal balance between visual sophistication and warmth."