Published by Candlewick

Summary:  A boy imagines life with a triceratops, which resembles an oversize dog, complete with lolling tongue, leash, and doghouse.  Readers will enjoy illustrations of the boy trailing after his pet on a walk with a shovel and trash bag, and of two triceratops sniffing at each other’s tails when they first meet.  “If I had a triceratops,” concludes the narrator, “I would be the luckiest kid in the world.”

Pros:  This would be a good writing prompt for kids to write persuasively about why they should have a triceratops (or other animal) as a pet.  The information about the author mentions that there is an earlier book, If I Had a Raptor that is based on cat ownership.

Cons:  That whole shovel and bag thing.