5^th Grade and Up

Butterbean knew she wasn’t always a good dog. Still, she’d never considered herself a BAD dog—until the morning that her owner, Mrs. Food, fell in the hallway. Admittedly the tile was slipperier than usual, mostly because Butterbean had just thrown up on it.
Now Butterbean and her fellow pets have to come up with a grand plan to support themselves in case Mrs. Food is unable to keep taking care of them. When they discover a mysterious man in their building who seems to have lots of loot, they plan a heist. Oscar the mynah bird is the brains of the operation. Walt the cat has the necessary slyness and slink. Marco and Polo are the reconnaissance rats. And Butterbean…well, no one would ever suspect a cute little wiener dog, right? Can these animal friends pull off the heist of the century?

A ragtag group of pets plotting a heist. How is that not a great plot for a story? This story is basically Ocean’s Eleven meets The Secret Life of Pets. I actually haven’t seen Ocean’s Elevenbut I did watch the spin-off film Ocean’s 8 which I loved.

Told from the point of view of the animals, they don’t fully understand what is going on around them. As the reader, you’ll probably be able to deduce certain aspects that the pets don’t fully grasp.

I love how the pets all have their own unique personality and skill that they bring to the operation. I especially liked Oscar the mynah bird, who reminded me of Uncle Feather from Judy Blume’s Fudge books. I like to think that Oscar is a descendant of Uncle Feather.

Each chapter has a black and white illustrations that adds a little something extra to the story.

I love how the pets call their owner Mrs. Food and all the other funny names they use for everyone else in the building. Like Mrs. Third Floor, Mr. Doorman, and Mr. Axe Body Spray.

The buildup to the actual heist is a tad long, mostly because the pets have to deal with several setbacks.

I could easily see this book being made into an animated movie or a decent live action movie. It would be better than most of the garbage people try to pass off as movies these days.

Like most book summaries, this summary only gives you a small hint of what this story has in stored. Bit of a spoiler ahead; take into consideration why this mysterious man has so much loot in the first place.

I’m going to leave it at that, I’ve already said too much.

In conclusion, if you love heist movies and animals, this is the book for you.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Pets

70% of American pet owners sign their pet’s name to greeting cards, a survey found.