Can We Get a Rhinoceros? by Christian Kueng (Author) and Nana Melkadze (Illustrator)

This review first appeared on Reader Views. Read the Reader Views Kids version here. 

A precocious young boy desperately wants a pet rhinoceros, but his mom brings up various reasons why they can’t have one despite the boy’s proffered solutions. Undeterred, because, after all, his mom does bring up some good points, the boy asks if he can have a variety of other pets from tiger to snake, whale to pig. But somehow his mother has reasons not to get any of those pets. Just as the boy begins to lose hope of getting any pet, his mom makes an offer.

Can We Get a Rhinoceros? by Christian Kueng is a delightful picture book. The questions the mother asks her son about the practicalities of all the various pets he suggests make for perfect questions to ask any emerging reader. These questions are sure to not only engage a young child but also spark problem-solving skills as well as curiosity about animals. With the book ending including information about the mentioned animals, readers will get a chance to explore that curiosity more deeply. It is worth noting, however, that the mother and son do sneak in some animal facts throughout their back and forth about a pet as well.

Nana Melkadze’s charming illustrations perfectly accompany Christian Kueng’s whimsical tale. The drawings deftly guide the story along and provide many opportunities for an adult reader to ask questions of the child they’re reading to—this is the mark of a great picture book. Being able to directly interact with the text and images is key to forming a bond between a young reader and a book as well as promoting a love of reading in a young child.

Additionally, I think this book is perfectly set up for a series. Kueng and Melkadze could either follow the young boy and his new pet on a quest for something else from the boy’s mother—perhaps another pet or getting a new toy like a piece of construction equipment, or Kueng and Melkadze could create stories of other kids seeking pets or other extravagant things.

Can We Get a Rhinoceros? is a lighthearted and interactive book in both text and picture. Christian Kueng has set up a whimsical and engaging tale and Nana Melkadze’s illustrations enhance it perfectly. I look forward to future books in a series or whatever Kueng and Melkadze do next.

Can We Get a Rhinoceros? by Christian Kueng (Author) and Nana Melkadze (Illustrator), Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.