The Great Pet Heist by Emily Ecton, David Mottram (Illustrated by)

Their owner slipped in the kitchen and knocked herself out.  The ambulance crew took her away and Bob the maintenance man isn't sure she'll be back.  He's already talking about putting the animals in a shelter.  The animals aren't going to put up with that!

Atheneum Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published May 12th.

Butterbean is a long haired wiener dog.  Walt is a cat.  Oscar is a bird.  Marco and Polo are two pet rats.  Since they can't get jobs, they decide to do a heist to get money.  They know there is a man with coins living in the apartments.  They send the rats into the vents to spy after Butterbean has located the room.

They actually manage the heist with the help of an octopus.  Then they find the man has taken their young sitter captive because he thinks she stole it.  It's much harder to hive back.

This was a very lively read with all kinds of animals protecting each other and those they love,  It has an exciting and joyful ending.  Young ones will love it!