Goldfish Don't Take Bubble Baths

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at Queen’s University. She is the co-author of
Learning with Literature in the Canadian Elementary Classroom.

Abby has aspirations to be a veterinarian. Interestingly, her younger
sister Tess acts like a dog. Both girls love animals but no pets are
allowed in their apartment building. When Mrs. Wilson, a neighbor, goes
on a holiday for a week, Abby volunteers to look after her goldfish.
During her first visit to Mrs. Wilson’s apartment, Tess, thinking that
a bubble bath will cheer up the goldfish, adds dish detergent to the
tank. Abby saves the fish and cleans up the mess but is furious with
Tess. When Abby loses the keys to her own and Mrs. Wilson’s
apartments, she realizes that anyone can make a mistake. She apologizes
to Tess and together they search for the lost keys. When they are unable
to find the keys, Abby explains the situation to her parents. They
appreciate her honesty and allow her to start a pet-sitting business.
When Tess and Abby visit the pet store to put up a poster advertising
their services, Abby finds her keys tacked to the bulletin board, and
gets a lead for their first job.

Goldfish Don’t Take Baths, the first in the Abby and Tess Pet-Sitters
series, fails to engage readers, and the reconciliation of the sisters
at the end of the book is predictable. Overall, the characters are flat
and the text is didactic. Further, the parents’ complete acceptance of
their daughter’s doglike behavior is highly unbelievable. Not
recommended.