I Love Guinea Pigs

I don't think I'd ever really considered the charms of the guinea pig - having never had one as a pet myself, nor encountered them much, as a child - before reading a review of this adorable book. But now, having read I Love Guinea Pigs, a picture-book by the prolific Dick King-Smith - whose many animals adventures, for slightly older readers, include titles like Babe: The Gallant Pig and A Mouse Called Wolf - I am won over by their personality, their endearing habits, and yes, by their almost unbearably cute appearance.

I had no idea that there were different types of guinea pig (again, having never really thought about the topic), nor that they were such chatty animals! Part of the Read and Wonder series, which attempts to combine show more picture-book virtues like good storytelling and quality illustrations, with an informative, fact-filled text, this book taught me how little I knew about this animal. The watercolor artwork by Anita Jeram - perhaps best known as the illustrator of Guess How Much I Love You - was sweet and appealing. All in all, an excellent introduction to these cavy darlings, one I would recommend to all young guinea pig lovers, or any child thinking of getting a guinea pig as a pet! show less

This book is a good introduction to keeping guinea pigs for lower elementary students. It describes many different breeds and gives instructions on how to care for them. You can tell the author really likes guinea pigs!

"Properly cared for, they can live a long time." And when mine dies after 2 years how do I resolve that to a child. I like the use of the pronoun I in the story. They should have taken some time to go over how the animals should be petted and held. Small children grab. But overall I liked this book. A lot of JK classes have guinea pigs in them and sometimes the child gets to take them home for a weekend.

reviewed - Linda Fox