A Perfect Pet for Peyton is great for kids 7-10

Any adult that has browsed for books has seen The 5 Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman.  That book is a #1 New York Times Bestseller, has sold over 7 million copies and been translated into over 40 languages.  That book led to The 5 Love Languages of Children, which is geared to how parents can better interact with children.  A Perfect Pet for Peyton is essentially the children’s book that teaches them the 5 ways that people can give and receive love. 

Identical twins Peyton and Penny are going to The Perfect Pet Pal Emporium for their birthday.  All of their friends are waiting for them where they’ll also adopt a pet at the end of the day.  Every child will also discover how they love.  Will it be through quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, physical touch or acts of service?

The illustrations in the book are plentiful, detailed and lush.  There is a hidden insect on every page and ample opportunities to learn vocabulary or create conversations about the pictures.

I shared the book with a testing audience between 8 and 11.  The 8 year old loved the pictures, but found the words and story a bit too detailed to read by herself.  The 9 year old loved the book, was actively asking questions about which pet I would like and created a story within a story.  The 11 year old wasn’t a fan of the book and found the plot ‘silly’, stating that ‘no pet store would ever have all those animals together.’

A Perfect Pet for Peyton is a good book for you to read with children aged 7-10.  The younger set will enjoy the challenges of the vocabulary, in addition to the numerous animal pictures.  The older kids will learn that people express themselves in different ways.  At the back of the book there are also some questions to help guide you through a discussion with the kids.

This is not a religious book, but it does mention that the kids pray, in addition to teaching multiple acts of kindness.  I feel kind of silly writing that.  Who doesn’t want their child to be kind to others and teach them to be nice to people, regardless of how they show that?   However, had I not mentioned that, some knucklehead would buy the book and get offended that the twins in the book prayed.

Big hooey to the minority that might get offended about the mention of the kids praying.  This is a nice read along book for younger kids that teaches them that everybody has different skills.  If your kids are older they’ll get even more out of the book.

This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.