Ok, this is just full-on fun. These pets are a hoot. It all starts when the dachshund, Butterbean, barfs in the kitchen and her owner, Mrs. Food, slips and bangs her head on the floor. Working together, she and her pet mates, Oscar the bird and Walt the cat, figure out how to activate the emergency button on her necklace and the ambulance arrives to whisk her away. They are left to answer the question, "Now what?"

What follows is a hilarious series of events which inevitably happens when you have animals that think like humans, but can't talk and maneuver like humans. Even though the building's maintenance man arranges for a girl to look in on them, they have to think about providing for themselves in the long run and also making sure they don't end up in a shelter. When they get some intel that there might be some valuable coins in the building, they go into planning mode. This could be just what they need to become independently wealthy and self-sufficient. A heist is in order, which of course is hilarious. And even though everything goes off without a hitch, there has to be that one thing, which then leads to them needing to pull off an anti-heist.

Loved all these animal characters. Their personalities are distinct and nuanced. This author is great at intertwining humor and suspense. With a super cute cover and illustrations throughout, this should be an easy sell with kids.

I have already sent this review when I first downloaded the ebook. I am just trying to remove this from my dashboard.

This book was adorable. Told in the pet's point of view when their owner takes a fall and is taken away, they need to work together to pull of the heist of their lives to avoid being sent to the shelter. The cast of animal characters were great. There is even an octopus! I had a great time reading this and can't wait to read about their future adventures!

Thank you to Emily Ecton, Atheneum Books, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cute story about a group of pets that make a number of wild plans to survive when their owner is taken to the hospital. Fans of Secret Life of Pets will like this. 9 copies in my consortium - I'll recommend this to my fans of Jacobson's Animal Inn.

Meet Butterbean, I know, right? Love that name! Well, Butterbean wasn't always the most well-behaved dog. She really didn't even think she was that bad, but during an unfortunate incident where Butterbean is sick, enter the her owner, who....yeah. She falls directly into said incident! You can imagine.....

Now Butterbean pairs up with her fellow neighbors, dogs, who try and figure out how to survive on their own. Just in case Butterbean's owner doesn't want them anymore.

Can they survive on their own? Reminiscent of The Secret Life of Pets, this tail will be sure to ensnare you!

This book was received as an ARC from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing - Atheneum Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was beyond adorable. I could not help but laugh throughout most of this book. The plot setting was too funny and the names of the pets are hysterical. I also appreciated the sentiment behind the whole heist. Butterbean's owner Mrs. Food slips on the floor from Butterbean throwing up and she will stop at nothing to save Mrs. Food even if it means recruiting her fellow pet friends Oscar, Walt, Marco and Polo. Fans of Secret Life of Pets will love this book and we can't wait to hear our fellow young patrons opinions are too.

We will consider adding this title to our JFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

AUTHOR

Emily writes under two names: Emily Ecton and Emily Fairlie. She grew up in Virginia and owned a variety of pets. She moved to Chicago and became a writer and producer for the National Public Radio (NPR) news quiz. She now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. To find Emily’s webpages; click here for Ecton, and here for Fairlie.

SYNOPSIS

When Mrs. Food gets injured and must go to the hospital her little band of pets are left to wonder if she will come back. Afraid that they may have to go to a shelter if she is not able to take care of them; they decide that they must take matters into their own hands…or paws.

Will they live in the ducts, or the park, or will they have to support themselves? These are the options they must choose from. Of course, being wealthy has its benefits and so this merry little band decides to conduct a heist. There is someone in the complex with a stash of gold that they will soon acquire.

Oscar– Mynah bird and the brains of the outfit. He speaks a little human. He develops plans and strategies.

Walt – A black cat with cunning and stealth. When not preening himself, he is the backup for Oscar. He also has connections…Chad the Octopus.

Butterbean – Longhaired wiener dog. He is cause of the whole situation they are in. He conducts reconnaissance and information gathering.

Marco and Polo – Rats. They help with reconnaissance and observation.

Chad – Octopus. Great at moving through the apartment complex, opening doors, bottles and windows.

Wallace – Ex-pet rat. Now he lives in the apartment complex duct system. He is the guide.

Madison– Human girl. She is the temporary caretaker of the pets while Mrs. Food is in the hospital.

Mrs. Food– Elderly human. She is the owner of the pets.

Through careful planning and clever strategy, they execute the mission. Not all goes well, though, and poor Madison is kidnapped! Now they have to plan and execute a rescue mission. Will they save Madison? Will they have to go to a shelter? Will they have to live in the ducts or on the streets? You will have to read the book to find out.

CONCLUSION

The Great Pet Heist is beautifully written. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this daring tale. The plot is well constructed. The descriptions of the characters are exciting and detailed. The idiosyncrasies of the individual characters are spot on and humorous.

The illustrations in my copy were black and white, but they were very well drawn. Dave brings to life the characters in vivid detail. I only wish my Kindle was color. His illustrations are wonderous to look at and each one is its own work of art.

This is a great book to read to children. It is full of adventure, intrigue, mystery, danger, and adventure. I highly recommend this book.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
SPECIAL MENTION – ILLUSTRATOR

Dave starting drawing as a young child. He drew his first comic strip at the age of ten. He studied Design in college. His first paying design job was with a park creating posters and trail guides. His resume includes Designer, Senior Designer, and Freelance Designer. He is also an accomplished book illustrator. He lives in Ohio and has a daughter who has also taken an interest in drawing. See Dave’s webpage here.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Emily Ecton, NetGalley and Atheneum Books for Young Readersfor affording me the opportunity to review The Great Pet Heist.

The Great Pet Heist by Emily Ecton is a fun read! I have a feeling my students will love the book's animal characters, who are endearing and funny. The plot is just involved enough the grab the attention of a middle grade student without losing them. It's a quick read that is enjoyable until the last page. I recommend it.

A laugh out loud quirky story for middle schoolers. The menagerie of pets that come together to solve their predicament were so fun. Would love to see more adventures with these characters.

When an accident leaves them alone, a dog, cat, bird and two rats join forces to avoid the shelter and being split up. Taking a cue from tv, they decide to pull off a heist to save the day. Fun, silly story of friendship.

4.5 stars. Such a fun story!! I adored the characters in this. Butterbean is a little dim at times, but so endearing. Walt the cat is a hoot. Oscar the bird is high strung, but smart. And the two rats are a riot. The other animals they find to help them were great, including one that was a bit of a surprise. I enjoyed all the heist pieces and the plot points that launch the animals into their scheme.

The thread with the pet sitter, Melissa, was a nice addition to the story and I loved how that was sorted out in the end. If there are going to be more books in this series, I will absolutely be reading them. Highly recommend.

Butterbean knows that she is now, officially, a bad dog. All because her owner, Mrs. Food, slipped on Butterbean’s vomit, and had to be taken to the hospital. Now Butterbean, Oscar, and Walt, along with two rats (Marco and Polo) must find a way to survive. A new mysterious main is in the apartment building and has a lot of shiny new loot! Together the rag tag group of pets decide to combine their unique skills to plan a heist, just incase Mrs. Food doesn’t come back. Will she come back? This hilarious robbery from a pets’ point of view will leave readers laughing and wanting more adventures. This is a great humor book for middle grade readers who love heists, pets, or humorous stories.

Please note: This was a review copy given to us by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

The Great Pet Heist was a cute book that will draw in young readers who like pets and who like problem solving. Pets don't know anything beyond the little world we give them, but when their owner is hurt and has to leave, they must learn new things and take care of themselves in an all new way. Very cute and enjoyed as a read aloud. I would read this again to my class when we are back to normal.

This was so adorable and hilarious! If you enjoy The Secret Life of Pets, this is a book you need to check out. This modge podge gang of pets will steal your heart in a tale of crime (or crime fighting?) fun! I will be adding this to my read aloud list for next year’s students!! I can’t wait to share it with them!!!

This was such a cute book! I read this aloud to my 7-year old and we both thought it was hilarious. We enjoyed the characters and the plot moved quickly. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone ages 6-12 or for a classroom library or media center. Many thanks to the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

A dog, a cat, a bird and two rats all in one NYC apartment. Their owner takes a fall and leaves them to get treated and they quickly wonder about their future. They band together to make a plan to make themselves rich, so they can take care of themselves. When a young girl enters the picture, they worry a little less, but still take matters into their own hands.

What a fun and sweet book told through the perspective of the animals. I am a dog owner and animal lover, so I loved hearing life through their eyes. It made me giggle quite a few times when I thought about how my crew would operate without humans.

The one thing that I didn't completely love about the book was the names of the animals. For some reason it was hard for me to keep them all straight. I don't know why I couldn't do it, but I wish their names had matched their personalities or type of animal a bit better!

I would recommend this to many young readers. With a love of animals and a fun heist plot line, this is a great read for adults to read to a child or an early reader.

I received an electronic ARC from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing through NetGalley.
Interesting story of what happens when pets are left on their own. Their owner, Mrs. Food, falls and is taken to the hospital. The five pets - 1 dog (Butterbean), 1 cat (Walt), 1 bird (Oscar), 2 rats (Marco & Polo) - devise a plan to stay together and not be sent to the shelter if their owner cannot come back home. They plan a heist, steal gold coins, return the coins, and rescue their pet sitter. In the end, they get to stay in the apartment with Mrs. Food and Madison.
Plenty of humor throughout the story. Ecton created delightful characters who will amuse and delight middle grade readers.

This chapter book received rave reviews from the 6 year old I read it to during sequestered home schooling. He found the story and illustrations immensely amusing, and was eager to resume hearing it read each day. The cast of characters includes the pets of hospitalized Mrs. Food, leaving Butterbean the dog, Oscar the bird, Walt the cat, and Marco & Polo the rats to fend for themselves. A mystery surrounds Madison, the girl who has been hired to feed them, and the sinister Coin Man gives them all the creeps. By joining together and recruiting Chad the octopus from another apartment to help, the group problem-solves, overcomes numerous obstacles to reach a satisfying conclusion. The slapstick humor makes for fun reading aloud to younger grades, but will also be fun for independent reading for middle grades.

Do you ever wonder what happens when you leave your pets at home? Do you think they live a life of adventure and intrigue? If you love pets, you will enjoy this story of a group of animals on a mission while their owners are away. Meet a diverse cast of pets who aren't afraid to step up and help their community and a young girl in their apartment building when needed. This book has all the makings of a great series!

The Great Pet Heist is a very cute story about a set of pets who get super worried when their owner Mrs. Food falls and may not come back. They plot to become independently deathly so they won’t have to go to the s word (the shelter). So between a wiener dog, cat, bird, mice and even an octopus the set off on a funny and crazy adventure in their building to steal coins from the scary man in the building. I read this book as a read aloud to my 9 year old (3rd grade) and he thoroughly loved it. It was hard for us to just read a few chapters a day as we wanted to keep reading to find out what these silly pets would do next.

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.