"Ten Kids, No Pets" by Ann M. Martin

As a kid, Ten Kids, No Pets was one of my favorites by Ann M. Martin.  Something about ten siblings spending a year trying to convince their parents that they need a pet and then finally finding a loophole to the rule that "ten kids enough" just delighted me.  For some reason it became my personal tradition to read this book the night before Thanksgiving.  I stuck with this ritual for quite some time and it was really nice to go back and get reacquainted with the Rosso family.

The Rosso children are used to order and organization.  Named alphabetically from Abigail to Janthina, they know how to keep life from becoming too crazy (no easy feat in a family with 10 kids), but when they move from New York City to the country, they try to throw a little crazy into their lives be asking (and asking) for a family pet.  But their mother continues to insist that they do not need said pet.  Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the children and follows them over the course of a year.  As the reader, we get to see Jan's impatience while waiting for Santa, Dagwood's mishaps when planning a Halloween party, and Calandra's desperation to find a place of her own. This is the kind of book that I think is excellent for beginning readers or a book to read a chapter a day.  There isn't a lot of suspense and each chapter wraps up nicely before going onto the next.  It seems that this book is out of print (I ended up getting my copy at a library book sale) so it may be difficult to get your hands on a copy, but if you come across it I highly recommend it!

Happy Reading!
-Melly