Plantpet

Plantpet

Bertie lives alone until he discovers Plantpet, a mysterious creature that is part plant and part pet, in a little cage out in the corner of the junkyard, but problems arise because Plantpet refuses to listen and will not stop digging holes. PreSchool-Grade 2-A delightfully silly, engaging book that calls to mind The Little Shop of Horrors, although the plant protagonist in this story is benevolent. Bertie, like the human caretaker in the film, is mild-mannered and eccentric. One morning he awakens to find a caged plant with a note that reads, "Turn this cage daily." He does so, and Plantpet changes and grows until it walks right out of its cage. Together, they create a garden anyone would be proud of. But the now-enormous creature gets carried away digging, and Bertie banishes it to a far-away corner. Soon the man grows lonely and returns to find Plantpet a shrunken shell of its former self. In a stroke of genius, he digs a hole and plants it. It thrives and the two friends live happily ever after. Primavera reinforces the plot with gorgeous, surrealistic illustrations. Bertie's bell-bottomed jeans are an especially goofy touch. The dark hour of the tale is illustrated in deep blues and purples; lighter moments are done in a lighter palette. Here's a relationship between a plant and a human in which the former's gender is not revealed, and the latter comes to learn how to better care for his companion. With the perennial debate of the sexism in Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree (HarperCollins, 1964), this title is a welcome addition to any collection. Lynn Cockett, Nutley Public Library, NJ Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.