In the first of what will be a series of “Babysitter Approved” book reviews by my newly certified 12 year old babysitter in residence, here is a review of Holly Jahangiri’s new children’s book, A Puppy, Not a Guppy.
As a new babysitter, I’m always looking for ways to entertain the neighborhood kids that I sit for. Across the street are 5 year old twins who I watch sometimes. A Puppy, Not a Guppy is a very cute book that I’m sure they will love.
The story is about a little girl named Irma who wants a puppy, but her parents won’t let her have one. Her friend has a bunch of pets including a pregnant guppy. When he tells her that he will have to flush the baby guppies down the toilet, she feels bad for them and agrees to take them.
At first she thinks they are boring. They don’t do anything. But later she discovers they are not as boring as she thought. She thinks of one of the fish as a slowpoke but with her mom’s help decides to name him Lightning, hoping that he’ll live up to his name. I don’t want to give too much away but I think kids will be excited to learn that a pet guppy is trainable, if you are very patient! Parents will be happy because their kids may want a pet that’s easier to take care of.
I think little kids will really like this story because it is cute and funny. Irma seems like a lot of kids I know. She’s a little grumpy when her parents won’t let her get a puppy, but she doesn’t throw a tantrum and that’s a good lesson for little kids to learn. My little sister wants a kitten and my parents won’t get her one, but unlike Irma she HAS thrown a tantrum (more than one). Maybe guppies would be a good idea for her. She could name one Kitty, ha ha!
The illustrations in the book are very cute- even kids as old as I am will enjoy them, especially the guppies. And at the end of the book there are some fun and surprising fish facts- stuff even I didn’t know.
I give this book my official Babysitter Stamp of Approval. In my professional opinion, this is a book for children of all ages!
Here I am (in the CSI hat) with my sister (in the pink hat) and the neighborhood rugrats:
You can check out other stops on this blog tour at:
Tuesday, December 8th: Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap
Wednesday, December 9: Life is But a Dream
The Struggling Blogger dot Com
Thursday, December 10: Life is But a Dream
Friday, December 11: Life is But a Dream
Saturday, December 12: HappyMaking
Sunday, December 13: Dr. Dean Pomerleau @ Fish School Blog
Monday, December 14: Books on the Brain
Tuesday, December 15: Jena Isle’s Random Thoughts
Wednesday, December 16: Tour Wrap-up at Imaginary Friends and It’s All a Matter of Perspective
Filed under: Book Reviews, books, kids, pets, reading, Uncategorized | Tagged: a puppy not a guppy, babysitter approved, blog tour, Book Reviews, books, childrens books, holly jahangiri, kids |
Books on the Brain 
Thank you so much! I think I may be the first author to receive the OFFICIAL “Babysitter Stamp of Approval” and I can’t begin to tell you how excited and honored I am. (I also love your idea of having your sister name her guppy “Kitty” – GREAT idea! You’ll have to tell me if you hear “Meeeeowwww” coming from the bowl!) This is a fantastic review.
You’re the first one!
I love this! Your new certified babysitter daughter did a fantastic job. I’m glad to see this will be a series.
Thanks, Kath! She’s excited about it.
Hey a stamp of approval! 😀
Congratulations Holly!
Greets to the new babysitter. Hello and Merry Christmas from the Philippines!
Very realistic review and really a good invitation to kids. Coming from a Babysitter, makes it more credible. Bravo.
Babysitters know what’s good 🙂
That was a fabulous review! I’m going to buy this book for my niece and nephew, who I’m visiting over the holidays.
HI Robin! All ready for Christmas? How old are your niece and nephew?
What a review! It’s one to be shared and kept.
Vivian
Oh, I love the Babysitter Approved review! I’ll definitely be looking forward to reading more of her reviews.
She’s deciding what the next “Babysitter Approved” title will be!
I’m glad Holly was able to post a comment. I know she working and can’t pop in often, but she will when she arrives home.
Great review! My daughter is just about babysitting age and this book would probably help her out in the same way it did you. Glad you recommend the book, I’ll have to point her towards your review!
My daughter took an online babysitting course with her girl scout troop to get “certified”. The course took about 4 or 5 hours.
Might be a good one for me to read with my five-year-old. She does want a puppy- or even something smaller like a rabbit- but isn’t quite responsible enough yet. I thought guppies or goldfish would be a good place to start, we were just looking at some in the pet store this past weekend.
It would be perfect for her, Jeane!
I don’t have any babysitters in my family, but I have one grandchild and two great-grandchildren who will enjoy the book and Irma.
Gosh! Lots of people are interested in my story. This is fantabulous! Wait till Miss Holly gets off work. She’s walking around in a Santa Hat singing “Just two more days! Just two more days!” Grown-ups are so silly. It’s like…oh, hey, we could start singing The Twelve Days of Christmas right NOW, couldn’t we?
On the first day of Christmas my author gave to me
A tiny little kitty in a treeeeee!
On the second day of Christmas my author gave to me
Two precious puppies,
And a tiny little kitty in a treeeee!
On the third day of Christmas my author gave to me
Three dirty looks,
Two precious puppies,
And a tiny little kitty in a treeeeeee!
On the fourth day of Christmas my author gave to me
Four pairs of jeans,
Three dirty looks,
Two precious puppies,
And a tiny little kitty in a treeeeeee!
On the fifth day of Christmas my author gave to me
Five croaking frogs!
Four pairs of jeans,
Three dirty looks,
Two precious puppies,
And a tiny little kitty in a treeeeeee!
On the sixth day of Christmas my author gave to me
Six ballet lessons (yuck!),
Five croaking frogs!
Four pairs of jeans,
Three dirty looks,
Two precious puppies,
And a tiny little kitty in a treeeeeee!
On the seventh day of Christmas my author gave to me
Seven guppies playing,
Six ballet lessons (I’m a klutz),
Five croaking frogs!
Four pairs of jeans,
Three dirty looks,
Two precious puppies,
And a tiny little kitty in a treeeeeee!
On the eighth day of Christmas my author gave to me
Eight shortbread cookies,
Seven guppies playing,
Six ballet lessons (dorky!),
Five croaking frogs!
Four pairs of jeans,
Three dirty looks,
Two precious puppies,
And a tiny little kitty in a treeeeeee!
On the ninth day of Christmas my author gave to me
Nine night-night stories,
Eight shortbread cookies,
Seven guppies playing,
Six ballet lessons (why not tap?),
Five croaking frogs!
Four pairs of jeans,
Three dirty looks,
Two precious puppies,
And a tiny little kitty in a treeeeeee!
On the tenth day of Christmas my author gave to me
Ten tons of homework (due before the break),
Nine night-night stories,
Eight shortbread cookies,
Seven guppies playing,
Six ballet lessons (c’monnnn – violin?),
Five croaking frogs!
Four pairs of jeans,
Three dirty looks,
Two precious puppies,
And a tiny little kitty in a treeeeeee!
On the ‘leventh day of Christmas my author gave to me
Eleven candy canes,
Ten tons of homework (due before the break),
Nine night-night stories,
Eight shortbread cookies,
Seven guppies playing,
Six ballet lessons,
Five croaking frogs!
Four pairs of jeans,
Three dirty looks,
Two precious puppies,
And a tiny little kitty in a treeeeeee!
On the twelth day of Christmas my author gave to me
Twelve GREAT BIG PRESENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (right Miss Holly?)
Eleven candy canes,
Ten tons of homework (due before the break),
Nine night-night stories,
Eight shortbread cookies,
Seven guppies playing,
Six ballet lessons,
Five croaking frogs!
Four pairs of jeans,
Three dirty looks,
Two precious puppies,
And a tiny little kitty in a treeeeeee!
It all sounds good except the homework and the dirty looks!
Yeah, well, she thought I gave up wheedling for a puppy.
And yeah, what’s with all the homework right here before Christmas! It’s not like any of us kids are thinking about anything but what’s under the tree and whether we’re on Santa’s good list or bad list. Even the kids who don’t celebrate Christmas are excited to have TWO WHOLE WEEKS OFF!!
I like school, but I like winter break best. (Summer’s good, too, but it’s a little too long. It gets kind of boring by the middle of July.)
On the first day of Christmas, your publisher gave to you news that copies of your book are on the way.
How’s that?
Yay!! That’s excellent news. Thanks!
Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?
🙂
I can’t wait to come meet all these nieces and nephews and babysitters and grandkids and sons and daughters and – I am getting SO excited! Yay, Christmas!!
So, Miss Lisa, how much does babysitting pay? Is it hard? Can your daughter come out and play?
Hi Irma! My daughter is still at school. She has a holiday band concert this week so she’s in the band room practicing. Babysitting pays about $6 an hour in our neighborhood. A good babysitter can rake in some serious cash! You might want to try it in a couple of years. She’s brand new though and hasn’t done any babysitting all by herself with the parents away.. that will be soon but not quite yet. Right now she’s more of a ‘mother’s helper’ meaning the mom is home while my daughter is there watching the kids. She helps them with their (kindergarten) homework, plays with them, gets them ready for bed, etc. They have fun. The twins she referred to are a handful so she usually has her sister with her when she hangs out with them. She also watches another set of twins on our block who are 7 years old, with the mom home as well. The moms LOVE it.
In my (limited) personal experience babysitting, it’s actually MUCH harder to establish any sort of authority when the moms or dads are home. I quit my first babysitting job in tears, because I was supposed to entertain the kids in the “rumpus room” downstairs while their parents hosted a party upstairs. The boy was mostly pleasant, but didn’t want to do anything; the little girl threatened to run away and kicked me in the stomach when I tried to stop her from running upstairs. She screamed and whined and wrapped her whole body around her mother’s leg. (My parents were also at the party, and I was about your daughter’s age.) I begged my parents to just take me home right then. The kids’ parents talked me into staying, then went out with friends after the party. The kids instantly changed into likeable, well-behaved children who begged me to read them bedtime stories! I was utterly flabbergasted. I thought they HATED me. No – they just knew so long as mom and dad were home, they could appeal to a higher authority and they thought the threat of that was going to make me give up and just LET them go to the party upstairs. 😉 Fortunately, they had smart parents – and so did I.
What an adorable post! I didn’t know you could train guppies! I enjoyed reading about this book. 🙂
Congrats to Holly on getting an official Babysitter Stamp of Approval!
Ha! When I was a kid, I wanted a puppy SOOOO bad and my family tried to appease me with fish too. Mine were, of course, super boring and untrainable.
And now you have a seal of approval from the baby sitters. How cool is that?
This is a book that is worth reading to kids of all ages and those kids at heart. Okay, I haven’t read it yet, but from the reviews I’ve read from the other blogs, I am sure no one would be disappointed in getting their own copy of the book.
Z
Lookis likw you have a future book blogger on your hands 🙂
Wonderful review, Babysitter!
What a great review. Congratulations!!