Customer Reviews
Never get sick of it - By: CJ's Mom, 01 Dec 2007 
My son has had this book for a year & we still enjoy it. I'm now buying it for my God-daughter. It's one of those gems of a children's book which wont make you groan when your child asks you to read it again & again & AGAIN! (in the same league as Night Monkey Day Monkey & The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson)
A charming and funny story with lovely illustrations and flaps for little fingers - By: ELH Browning, 28 Oct 2007 This is a lovely picture book with gorgeous wholesome pictures, & a lift-the-flap on every page. A boy heads into a pet shop with big signs on the window "Everything must go". Inside there's a very friendly rat for 1p who's dying to be picked & helps throughout the browsing process. There are lots of interesting animals, terrapin, turtle & tortoise; a perch of things beginning with p (platypus???); a skink ("a sausage on legs" says the rat) & so on. Will the boy choose the salamander, the anteater, or what? The finale is a long fold-out page with a collection of animals & a pop-out pelican.
With its flaps & interesting animals, this is probably suitable for children from about 18 months (in response to the other review, Billy's Beetle has the same kind of feel as this book but possibly has more text & certainly has no flaps so is better from two & a half). This book should also last the test of time. It still amuses my daughter who at 7 is reallly too old, & she also likes to do the maths, adding up the prices of the various animals for sale up to reach £1.
In sum, totallly charming.
An Inkpen masterpiece ! - By: , 31 Oct 2001 My little boy (aged 4) has had this book for two years & still loves it. It is a wonderful book; it has laughs, pathos, numbers to learn & lots more besides. A must have for your collection!
Very funny and beautiful - By: , 23 Jan 2001 Although every Mick Inkpen book is so distinctly & wonderfully "Mick Inkpen", each one has something new & unique about it. I read The Great Pet Sale over & over again to my boy because it makes me laugh. Apart from being beautiful like alll Inkpens, it is funny in a new & different way.
A beautifully illustrated wry happy ending - By: , 07 Dec 2000 I just loved this book, my daughter Tess (age5) reallly enjoyed the character of the little rat. He was so endearing & funny, you can't help but love him. The lift-up flap format reallly added to the enjoyment of the story, & even though I thought it was a tad babyish for Tess, she couldn't wait to lift the flaps. You will find yourself smiling alll the way through this book..the ridiculous prices of the animals, rats' description of them, & of course the beautiful illustrations. It will leave your child feeling warm inside & believing in happy endings....now that must be worth something, surely.
