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Sweet Valley Kids #28
Elizabeth Meets Her Hero
Eager for the class trip, on which she will view the taping of her favorite television program, "Dr. Snapturtle's Animal Hour," Elizabeth Wakefield is shocked to discover that Dr. Snapturtle mistreats his dog, Duke.
- GenresChildrens
80 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1992
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,150 books1,881 followersFrancine Paula Pascal was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High, the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series, which led to several spin-offs, including The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. Although most of these books were published in the 1980s and 1990s, they remained so popular that several titles were re-released decades later.
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July 28, 2024Elizabeth Meets Her Hero
The twins sit down to watch Dr. Snap-Turtle Animal Hour. He’s a vet that Liz idolizes because he makes animals better. He has a dog named Duke. His first guest is the big cats keeper from the zoo. Then they’ll have some sea-animals. They’ll also have a special guest joining them. Jessica says she can’t believe not everyone loves Dr. Smap-Turtle. Caroline (she overheard) told some of the kids he wasn’t even a real vet. But Liz says she’ll see when then go to the taping. The special guest is a baby seal that was found orphaned on the beach with one of it’s flippers were broken and he was suffering from mal nutrition and shock. He says he’s doing everything he can to help him and then the show ends.
A week later, they’re going on the trip. Everyone’s excited! Charlie teases them about it and says that only babies watch the show. Lila agains brings up Caroline’s disbelief of Dr. Snap-Turtle. Liz says tho that of course, he’s a real doctor he cures animals all the time. Caroline says no he’s not. He’s an actor pretending to be a doctor because Snap-Turtle? Ok well I gotta give her that one. Jessica thinks he’s real too. Jessica and Eva hopes he’ll ask for volunteers. Ellen says what if there’s a snake. Jessica says even if there’s a snake. They ask Amy if she’s meet him and she says yes. He tells lots of funny jokes. Her mom works at the tv station. They all hope the baby seal will be on. Mrs. Sutton welcomes them to the studio and gives them a tour. Liz asks if they can get autographs and she says yes. He’ll sign autographs and answer questions.
First, she shows them the video-tape libray. It has all the recordings of all the shows they’ve ever done. Next Mrs. Sutton gives them a lesson about how tv signals work She shows them the studios were the talk shows and news are shot. Then she shows them the green screen the news people see and explains how there’s a monitor that shows the weather person where to point. Last but not least is the Animal Hour studio. He gives the kids a shout out and starts to talk about eagles. Liz notices he’s not as cheerful as usual. The next animal he shows them is a pygmi pig and he talks a little bit about them. Then he cuts to a commercial. When he comes back he has an otter and asks for a volunteer. He notices and calls her down. Jessica asks if he wants her to hold the otter’s leash and he says no he wants her to hold the raw fish in the bucket. After this, the show ends and Mrs. Otis tells them to come meet the Dr.
Liz asks for an autograph and he signs one but barely looks at her. When she asks him how the seal is he completely ignores her. She looks at Jessica like see what I mean. (Earlier she asked Jessica if he seemed strange to her and Jessica said no). Liz thinks maybe he’s not as nice as he is on tv. He’s really not listening to any of the kids questions. Jessica leaves her jacket and asks liz to go with her to find it. The teacher says be back in five minutes.
They look in the news room. It’s not there. They go to the Animal Hour studio. Jessica thinks she might have left it on her seat. As they enter, they hear shouting. He’s saying he doesn’t care whose fault it is. It’s happened before and it can’t happen again. Liz can’t believe he’s actually HUMAN. They find the jacket and are about to leave but the Dr comes out on the stage. Duke comes over to examine the spilled fish. Dr. Snap-Turtle starts to scold him. Liz tells him that was mean. They yell at him he’s a big fake. He’s not nice to animals at all and they rush out the studio.
The twins tell their friends who are all shocked except for Caroline whose like I told you so. Mrs. Otis hops to his defence and says she’s sure there’s a reason and gets on Jessica for saying she bets he’s not even a vet. Still, Jessica knows she’ll never believe in him again. When there parents ask about the trip, the twins tell him he’s a fake and they don’t like him anymore, but she did get to be on the show. Alice says they can watch the show. The twins say PASS! But Jessica wants to see herself. She tells Liz she’ll watch but she won’t enjoy it.
Mr. Otis says they’ll have a special guest. Dr. Snap Turtle feels bad about what the twins saw and he’s coming to plead his case. Charlie basically says he’s just worried about his ratings. Their teacher tells them to give him a chance to explain, but the kids start to talk a lot of trash about him. He shows up and says back to Caroline he doesn’t hate animals. He’s been working with them a long time. He says even tho Duke is his best friend there are times when you will get mad at your best friend. He said he wasn’t in the best frame of mind because the baby seal died. He was distracted and it made him impatient. He says tho Duke didn’t deserve it that can happen sometimes with people you love. You tend to lose your temper. Liz tells Jessica she thinks he’s telling the truth. Jessica tho says that’s no excuse.
He asks are there any more questions. No one says anything and he says he has to go (and leaves). Lila and Ellen say they bet he made the whole thing up. He’s full of BS! MRs. Otis says try to understand. It’s not easy to have one of your patients die when you’re a doctor. After school, they find out a dog has been hit. It ran out in front of a woman’s car. The dog is lying there with it’s leg twisted. Liz says she’s going to get Dr. Snap Turtle and runs to find him. Jessica joins her and they find him about to back out. They tell him about the dog. Liz waits for him to say no proving he’s not really who he says he is. But he grabs his case and rushes to the dog.
He soothes the dog and says he’ll have to take him to his clinic. Liz sees how the dog trusts him and this cinches it. He takes a needle and gives the dog a shot to help with the pain. He asks if they know whose he is. No one knows. A boy says he just hangs around a lot. He says he’ll try to find out whose he is and examine him for internal injuries. Jessica says he really is a vet and he says he is and says he’s glad they trusted him. Liz asks if they’ll be able to save him and he says he thinks so. He doesn’t want to lose another patient.
At dinner, they all agree it was lucky the Dr was there. Steven asks if the dog will live and Jessica says yes. Liz says she use to think she wanted to be a vet but now she doesn’t know if she can handle it. Alice says that’s just how it is sometimes. Some animals are just to sick to be saved. Then they talk about Misty. The twins say they’ll be watching the Animal Hour again. Liz says maybe she will be a vet after all even if she can’t save them all. And if she is she hopes she’s as good as Dr. Snap Turtle. Mrs. Otis says the dog will make a full recovery. No one claimed it and it might end up on the show. Caroline asks if they can go back to the studio. Mrs. Otis says there is a trip coming up but it’s field day at Secca Lake. Andy starts talking about aliens and UFOS at Secca Lake and it leads into the next book about are there aliens at Secca Lake.
My Thoughts:
This was EXACTLY how I thought it would be. Before I even started it I was thinking they’re going to find out this man isn’t who they think he is. But because it’s a SVK book and it couldn’t just be said that some celebrities are really jerks and **** people in person they kind of sugar coated it. But YES. This is a good lesson why you shouldn’t idolize famous people just because they have a skill. They’re PEOPLE! They have bad day and if you catch them on the *wrong* day the same thing will happen to you that happened to Liz and Jess. The only thing is they will *not* show up to apologize to you and explain. You’ll just be left with hurt feelings! Dr. Snap Tutrle might have been what he seemed but that’s just not always the case.
Rating: 6
The twins sit down to watch Dr. Snap-Turtle Animal Hour. He’s a vet that Liz idolizes because he makes animals better. He has a dog named Duke. His first guest is the big cats keeper from the zoo. Then they’ll have some sea-animals. They’ll also have a special guest joining them. Jessica says she can’t believe not everyone loves Dr. Smap-Turtle. Caroline (she overheard) told some of the kids he wasn’t even a real vet. But Liz says she’ll see when then go to the taping. The special guest is a baby seal that was found orphaned on the beach with one of it’s flippers were broken and he was suffering from mal nutrition and shock. He says he’s doing everything he can to help him and then the show ends.
A week later, they’re going on the trip. Everyone’s excited! Charlie teases them about it and says that only babies watch the show. Lila agains brings up Caroline’s disbelief of Dr. Snap-Turtle. Liz says tho that of course, he’s a real doctor he cures animals all the time. Caroline says no he’s not. He’s an actor pretending to be a doctor because Snap-Turtle? Ok well I gotta give her that one. Jessica thinks he’s real too. Jessica and Eva hopes he’ll ask for volunteers. Ellen says what if there’s a snake. Jessica says even if there’s a snake. They ask Amy if she’s meet him and she says yes. He tells lots of funny jokes. Her mom works at the tv station. They all hope the baby seal will be on. Mrs. Sutton welcomes them to the studio and gives them a tour. Liz asks if they can get autographs and she says yes. He’ll sign autographs and answer questions.
First, she shows them the video-tape libray. It has all the recordings of all the shows they’ve ever done. Next Mrs. Sutton gives them a lesson about how tv signals work She shows them the studios were the talk shows and news are shot. Then she shows them the green screen the news people see and explains how there’s a monitor that shows the weather person where to point. Last but not least is the Animal Hour studio. He gives the kids a shout out and starts to talk about eagles. Liz notices he’s not as cheerful as usual. The next animal he shows them is a pygmi pig and he talks a little bit about them. Then he cuts to a commercial. When he comes back he has an otter and asks for a volunteer. He notices and calls her down. Jessica asks if he wants her to hold the otter’s leash and he says no he wants her to hold the raw fish in the bucket. After this, the show ends and Mrs. Otis tells them to come meet the Dr.
Liz asks for an autograph and he signs one but barely looks at her. When she asks him how the seal is he completely ignores her. She looks at Jessica like see what I mean. (Earlier she asked Jessica if he seemed strange to her and Jessica said no). Liz thinks maybe he’s not as nice as he is on tv. He’s really not listening to any of the kids questions. Jessica leaves her jacket and asks liz to go with her to find it. The teacher says be back in five minutes.
They look in the news room. It’s not there. They go to the Animal Hour studio. Jessica thinks she might have left it on her seat. As they enter, they hear shouting. He’s saying he doesn’t care whose fault it is. It’s happened before and it can’t happen again. Liz can’t believe he’s actually HUMAN. They find the jacket and are about to leave but the Dr comes out on the stage. Duke comes over to examine the spilled fish. Dr. Snap-Turtle starts to scold him. Liz tells him that was mean. They yell at him he’s a big fake. He’s not nice to animals at all and they rush out the studio.
The twins tell their friends who are all shocked except for Caroline whose like I told you so. Mrs. Otis hops to his defence and says she’s sure there’s a reason and gets on Jessica for saying she bets he’s not even a vet. Still, Jessica knows she’ll never believe in him again. When there parents ask about the trip, the twins tell him he’s a fake and they don’t like him anymore, but she did get to be on the show. Alice says they can watch the show. The twins say PASS! But Jessica wants to see herself. She tells Liz she’ll watch but she won’t enjoy it.
Mr. Otis says they’ll have a special guest. Dr. Snap Turtle feels bad about what the twins saw and he’s coming to plead his case. Charlie basically says he’s just worried about his ratings. Their teacher tells them to give him a chance to explain, but the kids start to talk a lot of trash about him. He shows up and says back to Caroline he doesn’t hate animals. He’s been working with them a long time. He says even tho Duke is his best friend there are times when you will get mad at your best friend. He said he wasn’t in the best frame of mind because the baby seal died. He was distracted and it made him impatient. He says tho Duke didn’t deserve it that can happen sometimes with people you love. You tend to lose your temper. Liz tells Jessica she thinks he’s telling the truth. Jessica tho says that’s no excuse.
He asks are there any more questions. No one says anything and he says he has to go (and leaves). Lila and Ellen say they bet he made the whole thing up. He’s full of BS! MRs. Otis says try to understand. It’s not easy to have one of your patients die when you’re a doctor. After school, they find out a dog has been hit. It ran out in front of a woman’s car. The dog is lying there with it’s leg twisted. Liz says she’s going to get Dr. Snap Turtle and runs to find him. Jessica joins her and they find him about to back out. They tell him about the dog. Liz waits for him to say no proving he’s not really who he says he is. But he grabs his case and rushes to the dog.
He soothes the dog and says he’ll have to take him to his clinic. Liz sees how the dog trusts him and this cinches it. He takes a needle and gives the dog a shot to help with the pain. He asks if they know whose he is. No one knows. A boy says he just hangs around a lot. He says he’ll try to find out whose he is and examine him for internal injuries. Jessica says he really is a vet and he says he is and says he’s glad they trusted him. Liz asks if they’ll be able to save him and he says he thinks so. He doesn’t want to lose another patient.
At dinner, they all agree it was lucky the Dr was there. Steven asks if the dog will live and Jessica says yes. Liz says she use to think she wanted to be a vet but now she doesn’t know if she can handle it. Alice says that’s just how it is sometimes. Some animals are just to sick to be saved. Then they talk about Misty. The twins say they’ll be watching the Animal Hour again. Liz says maybe she will be a vet after all even if she can’t save them all. And if she is she hopes she’s as good as Dr. Snap Turtle. Mrs. Otis says the dog will make a full recovery. No one claimed it and it might end up on the show. Caroline asks if they can go back to the studio. Mrs. Otis says there is a trip coming up but it’s field day at Secca Lake. Andy starts talking about aliens and UFOS at Secca Lake and it leads into the next book about are there aliens at Secca Lake.
My Thoughts:
This was EXACTLY how I thought it would be. Before I even started it I was thinking they’re going to find out this man isn’t who they think he is. But because it’s a SVK book and it couldn’t just be said that some celebrities are really jerks and **** people in person they kind of sugar coated it. But YES. This is a good lesson why you shouldn’t idolize famous people just because they have a skill. They’re PEOPLE! They have bad day and if you catch them on the *wrong* day the same thing will happen to you that happened to Liz and Jess. The only thing is they will *not* show up to apologize to you and explain. You’ll just be left with hurt feelings! Dr. Snap Tutrle might have been what he seemed but that’s just not always the case.
Rating: 6
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December 4, 2018The moral of this story is that it's apparently okay to yell at your dog if you're upset about something else. That's a very bad moral. This is a bad book for telling children that that kind of thing is okay. It's really not.
January 23, 2025
It was boring.
May 13, 2013
And we all know the saying... as if the cover wasn’t enough 😂 Dr Snapturtle (yep) is a TV vet and the whole class is going to a taping. The twins love the show - but Caroline thinks he’s a phony. Sure enough he doesn’t seem like his normal cheerful self on the day they go, and after when the twins go back for Jessica’s jacket, they hear him yelling at his dog Duke 😱 They tell him he’s mean and report back to the class. The next day they have a surprise guest - it’s the Dr himself, explaining he was in a bad/sad mood the day before because he lost a baby otter 😞 Liz gets over it but Jess isn’t so sure - until a dog gets run over in the car park and Dr Snapturtle saves him!
My rating - 3/10 - I mean I could tell the guy was just having a bad day 🤷🏼♀️
My rating - 3/10 - I mean I could tell the guy was just having a bad day 🤷🏼♀️
July 26, 2012
The TV star animal trainer who turns out not to be much of an animal person.
June 22, 2013
I remember the cover but just not the story.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews