ALA Booklist (Sun May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Who wants a tortoise? Well, certainly not the pigtailed narrator, who has been counting on a puppy for her birthday cking names, reading books, and ignoring her dad's allergies. Her birthday present looks promising with holes in the box, but it turns out they are for the titular tortoise. Keane does a great job of presenting the hurt, disappointment, and anger of a child who is watching her long-held dream morph from adorable puppy into stolid reptile. The girl tries to teach the tortoise tricks to no avail, but slowly (about as slowly as the tortoise moves) she begins to enjoy her pet. And when the tortoise escapes, she experiences real feelings of loss. The happy ending allows the girl to finally pick out a name for the tortoise: Rover. Campbell's art, similar in feel to Sophie Blackall's illustrations, has great charm and appeal and serves the clever story admirably, extending and polishing each plot point. Whether this will make kids prefer tortoises over puppies remains to be seen.

Horn Book

The narrator longs for a puppy for her birthday--but instead gets a tortoise. At an appropriately slow-and-steady pace, owner and pet do begin to warm up to each other. When the tortoise gets lost, the girl realizes how much she cares. The narrator's initial petulance, revealed in the frank narrative and soft watercolor and colored-pencil pictures, is both entertaining and realistic.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Learn to love the one you-re with, Keane (Daddy Adventure Day) suggests in a story about a girl who gets a tortoise for her birthday. She desperately wanted a puppy, but her father is allergic to dogs. Campbell-s (Dylan the Villain) softly tinted watercolor-and-colored-pencil drawings say plenty about the girl-s emotions as she marches off, lower lip protruding, arms crossed, sent for a time-out after sassing her father (-Did you ever think I might be allergic to a dumb tortoise?-). Campbell captures the girl-s scowl when her mother scolds her for decorating the creature-s shell (and even painting its nails), and then her dignified stride as she takes her tortoise for his first walk. By the time the tortoise gets lost in the yard, the girl-s distress makes it evident that she has found a way to love her pet-and that the name Rover is appropriate for him, too. Carefully tracing the emotional journey from disappointment to love, Keane and Campbell allow readers wrestling with their own frustrations to imagine what change feels like. Ages 5-8. Author-s agent: Jennifer Mattson, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Illustrator-s agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (July)

School Library Journal (Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

PreS-Gr 2 A girl yearns for a puppy. After much anticipation, her birthday present doesn't turn out to be what she expected. With dreams dashed, she eyes her tortoise warily. Assessing the abilities of her "new lump of a pet," the feisty child discovers that he's not good at fetch, won't "beg for baloney," and doesn't "get excited when you come through the door." The pair do eventually bond over toenail-painting parties and skateboard-enabled walks. When her tortoise goes missing, the girl realizes how much she loves that "rascally guy with the waggly tail." Campbell's quirky colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations are the perfect match for the hilarious, spirited narration. Wearing a paw-print T-shirt, the sassy, pigtailed girl shows her initial displeasure by crinkling her eyes and making her "mad face." In a touching scene, the child appears in the nighttime shadows, wistfully looking out her window for her lost friend. VERDICT Irresistibly idiosyncratic and full of charm, this pet tale is a keeper. An adorable addition to any pet-themed storytime. Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ont., Canada