Cody Harmon, King of Pets Read online

  A dog named Laika was the first animal to orbit the earth. She was sent into space by the Soviet Union in 1957 on Sputnik 2. In addition to being astronauts, dogs have also had jobs as sheepherders, search-and-rescue workers, guides for those with vision, hearing, and mobility challenges, and therapy providers for patients in hospitals and long-term-care facilities.

  People who own pets have been shown to live longer and have fewer health problems. Spending time with pets lowers blood pressure, relieves stress, and reduces depression.

  The TV program 60 Minutes did a segment in October 2014 on “the smartest dog in the world,” a border collie named Chaser who is able to identify over one thousand toys by name. Chaser has a vocabulary as big as most human two-year-olds.

  Cats have powerful night vision. They can see at light levels six times lower than those human beings need to see by.

  A dog’s sense of smell has been estimated to be one hundred times keener than a human’s.

  Many pets have lived in the White House. Abraham Lincoln said that his cat Dixie was “smarter than my whole cabinet.” Recent presidential pets include: Barack Obama’s Portuguese water dog, Bo; George W. Bush’s Scottish terriers, Barney and Miss Beazley; and Chelsea Clinton’s cat, Socks.

  The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, first held in 1877, is America’s second-longest continuously held sporting event, behind only the Kentucky Derby.

  Labrador retrievers have been the most popular dog breed in the United States for over twenty years. Other popular dog breeds are German shepherds, golden retrievers, beagles, and bulldogs.

  Different kinds of pets are found in many countries around the world. In addition to traditional dogs and cats, the Chinese keep crickets. In a crowded city like Beijing, cricket pets don’t take up much room. Italy leads Europe in bird ownership; France has more reptile pets than any other European country.

  In the United States, there are 6.2 million pet rabbits in 19 million homes and 16 million pet birds in 5.7 million homes.

  Americans spend over $50 billion a year on their pets. In fact, they spend over $350 million just on Halloween costumes for their furry companions!

  Acknowledgments

  Cody needed help from his friends to take all of his pets to the Franklin School pet show. I needed help from my friends to write and publish this book.

  My enormously insightful editor, Margaret Ferguson, has an unerring gift of knowing exactly what a story needs to bring it to its best and truest form. Susan Dobinick consistently offers invaluable editorial suggestions as well. After having illustrated four previous Franklin School Friends titles, Rob Shepperson knows my characters even better than I do; I learn something about them from each of his lively, tender drawings.

  Thanks also to my ever-encouraging agent, Stephen Fraser; meticulously careful copy editor, Janet Renard; and Elizabeth H. Clark, for the appealing design of the entire series.

  Two writer friends are also animal experts. Leslie O’Kane weighed in on dog behavior and offered helpful comments on the entire manuscript. Michelle Begley, rooster lover extraordinaire, is the reason Cody ended up with a rooster as part of his menagerie. Michelle died too soon, in a heartbreaking automobile accident. This book is dedicated to her memory.

  Also by

  Claudia Mills

  7 x 9 = Trouble!

  Being Teddy Roosevelt

  How Oliver Olson Changed the World

  Fractions = Trouble!

  The Franklin School Friends Series

  Kelsey Green, Reading Queen

  Annika Riz, Math Whiz

  Izzy Barr, Running Star

  Simon Ellis, Spelling Bee Champ

  About the Author

  Claudia Mills is the acclaimed author of many books for children. She lives in Boulder, Colorado. You can sign up for email updates here.

  Rob Shepperson is a popular editorial artist for many newspapers and magazines. He lives in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  Fun Pet Facts

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Claudia Mills

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers

  175 Fifth Avenue, New York 10010

  Text copyright © 2016 by Claudia Mills

  All rights reserved

  First hardcover edition, 2016

  eBook edition, June 2016

  mackids.com

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Names: Mills, Claudia. | Shepperson, Rob, illustrator.

  Title: Cody Harmon, king of pets / Claudia Mills; pictures by Rob Shepperson.

  Description: First edition. | New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2016. | Series: Franklin School friends; 5 | “Margaret Ferguson Books.” | Summary: “Cody Harmon loves animals—he even has nine pets—so when the school holds a pet show fundraiser, it should be his time to shine”—Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015017955 | ISBN 9780374302238 (hardback) | ISBN 9780374302245 (e-book)

  Subjects: CYAC: Pets—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Pet shows—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / School & Education. | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Friendship.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.M63963 Cod 2016 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015017955

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  eISBN 9780374302245