A Promise Is a Promise — Florence Parry Heide

For all parents who have made a promise -- and every kid who has held them to it -- comes a cautionary tale from a masterfully witty pair.

George is a very lucky boy. He has everything a boy could want, except for one thing: he doesn't have a pet. When George's father finally sighs, "All right, you may have a pet," George goes out to look for one -- but how is he to know that it can't be too big, or too scampery, or too toothy, or too . . . unusual? A revered author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist keep their tongues in their cheeks as they spin a wry tale of promises and pets, befuddled parents and a triumphant child.