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    8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos
    8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos
    8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos
    Ebook67 pages37 minutes

    8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos

    By Vivian Vande Velde and Steve Bjorkman

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Running into the school to escape a hungry owl was easy. But with the door locked and an angry dog chasing him, how will Twitch the squirrel get back out?
     
    He'll need a hand, of course. . . . and maybe a paw, a fin, and a wing, too. Can the classroom pets—including Sweetie the library rat, a snake named Angel, and the first graders' Green Eggs and Hamster—help Twitch get back to his cozy home in the trees?
     
    Each chapter is told in the voice of a different animal as the squirrel works his way through the school, visiting each classroom and trying to stay one step ahead of the principal's menacing dog, Cuddles. The different perspectives make this a perfect introduction to narrative point-of-view—and an extra-funny read-aloud. 
     
    Lively black and white illustrations add to the humor, depicting Twitch's mad dash through the school and the chaos created by a band of class pets on the loose. With short, funny chapters, young readers will race through this novel to find out what the pets do next.
     
    For more of Twitch's adventures, check out Squirrel in the House and Squirrel in the Museum.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHoliday House
    Release dateJan 24, 2014
    ISBN9780823430918
    8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos
    Author

    Vivian Vande Velde

    Vivian Vande Velde has written many books for teen and middle grade readers, including Heir Apparent, User Unfriendly, All Hallow's Eve: 13 Stories, Three Good Deeds, Now You See It ..., and the Edgar Award–winning Never Trust a Dead Man. She lives in Rochester, New York. Visit her website at www.vivianvandevelde.com.

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    Reviews for 8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos

    3.5/5

    32 ratings6 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This chapter book is told from the point of view of the class pets in an elementary school. A squirrel by the name of Twitch accidentally gets trapped inside of the school and cannot escape. He franticly searches for a way out in all of the classes and different grade levels. The class pets try to help him, while he reeks chaos on the school.
    • 3/5
      I love Vande Velde's original and retold fairy tales. Her 'school stories' are fun, but don't have the same charm for me. Otoh, this will make some kids laugh so hard they'll disturb the class next door.
    • 3/5
      Fun, humorous book about a school yard squirrel. I read this aloud to kids I nanny for and the younger (2years old) was definitely more interesting in listening. I love the young humor it brings to a good read!
    • 4/5
      Fun, high energy story of a squirrel who ran into a school to escape a dog. The squirrel runs from class to class, eliciting help from each class pet, to hide from the dog. Kids will have fun guessing what will happen next.
    • 2/5
      I liked the idea of this book more than I actually enjoyed it. The prose was very choppy and did not flow well. There may have been too much attention to vocabulary control and not enough on fluidity. I think a young child would have a hard time building fluency with this book and my son got bored and refused to listen after a few sentences. I did, however like that the story was told from the perspective of the pets and I especially like the name of the hamster. Overall, not my favorite.
    • 4/5
      Twitch thinks there's nothing better than being a squirrel, especially one who lives next to an elementary school. One evening, though, he finds himself on the playground a little too late. When he realizes that an owl is heading straight for him, he starts running a zig zag path that takes him across the nose of a napping dog. When the dog joins the chase, the squirrel darts into the school, and chaos ensues. Each chapter is told through the eyes of the various classroom pets in the building as Twitch continues to try to elude Cuddles the dog. As we hear from the first grade hamster, the second grade rabbit, the third grade neon tetras, the fourth grade parrot, and several other animals, we follow Twitch's path through the school. There's plenty of silliness, and spot illustrations add to the fun. Primary grade teachers will enjoy this as a read-aloud and can use the alternating points of view as a jumping off point for conversations about perspective. Its length makes it a good choice for readers transitioning to chapter books.

    Book preview

    8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos - Vivian Vande Velde

    TWITCH

    (school-yard squirrel)

    Being a squirrel is the best thing in the world.

    The next best thing in the world is living where I live—which is near School. School is where humans send their young to learn things.

    I don’t know why.

    Squirrel mothers teach their own young. These are things my squirrel mother taught me:

    *how to climb

    *how to land when I jump or fall

    *how to find food

    *how to bury food

    *how to find food after I’ve buried it

    *how to look cute enough that humans will give me food, so I don’t have to find it, bury it, or find it again

    *how to get along with animals

    that don’t eat squirrels (Not eating squirrels is something I admire in those I meet.)

    *how to get away from animals that DO eat squirrels

    These are all valuable lessons for a squirrel.

    I’m not sure why humans can’t teach their own young.

    A few of the children are all right at climbing, but most aren’t good at finding food, and they’re hopeless at burying food.

    A squirrel mother teaches her young all they need to know by the end of summer, but human children spend five years in School. Five years is long enough for a squirrel to grow very, very old, so it’s a good thing we’re faster learners.

    And the humans aren’t even truly finished in five years!

    I have heard them talking, and I know. Before they go to School, they go to Kindergarten. And after they leave School, they will go to someplace that is called Middle School. And after that, they will go to High School.

    I haven’t seen any of these other places. I have no idea what Kindergarten is. But by their names, I’m guessing Middle School is halfway up, and High School must be at the very top of a tall tree. I suppose that’s the only way the humans will ever teach some of those young ones to climb.

    But School and the yards around it are a good place to live.

    It’s fun to climb up the School building and to play on the playground equipment when the children aren’t using it. There are also trees for climbing, and some of them are nut trees and some of them are fruit trees. That’s two of my big interests rolled into one: climbing and eating.

    And the people who live here love squirrels.

    They’re always buying toys and exercise equipment for us, and they set these things up around a feeder to make sure we notice them—it’s a mini-playground with a snack bar in the middle. Some of the toys are for twirling on, and there are ropes to shinny up and climb down, and balance beams to walk across. Sometimes, to make things extra-challenging for our benefit, the ropes and poles are greased to make them slippery. Whee!

    It’s very considerate of people to give us these jungle gyms so we don’t become fat and lazy, like, for example, the groundhog.

    One day I was exploring a new bird feeder in the yard next door to School. It had a big slippery disk for

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