Guinea Dog

I really wanted to like this one. It's about a guinea pig! And Fuse #8 really, really liked it (unfortunately, I can't find her review because of the blog switch, but it's probably on Amazon).

But I didn't like it. Mainly because I couldn't stand his parents. His dad is an obsessed control freak and we're expected to feel sorry for him because he's having trouble dealing with being a housedad and having to do housework. Excuse me? His mom has apparently been working as a paint mixer for 20 years, so who was doing the housework before his dad came home? AND working a full-time job? But I don't like his mom any better. She's either incredibly manipulative or extremely stupid. The guinea pig acting like a dog was kind of cute, his friends show more were interesting, and the main character was ok, but I just couldn't stand the parents. I don't have a problem with weird or unpleasant parents, but it drove me nuts to have them presented as ok and normal. Grr.

At least that's how I felt about it. Someone else might get a different feel from the story and think the parents were cute.

Verdict: I couldn't stand it, but will probably get it eventually for my private collection of guinea pig books, just because I am an obsessive collector.

ISBN: 978-1606840535; Published April 2010 by Egmont; Borrowed from the library; Added to my personal wishlist show less

This is hilarious. 'Fido' doesn't behave like any guinea pig I ever saw, but the book is lots of fun.

My 9-yr-old daughter recommended this

5th-grader Rufus wants a dog, but his anal dad can't stand the idea. So, Mom gets him a guinea pig. Rufus is so disappointed, it takes him a long time to realize this isn't a normal guinea pig. It understands "sit" and "quiet" and "go get help" and even how to eject CD's...

It's cute

Some extra bits:

1. The best character isn't Rufus, but his friend Murphie who comes late to school, is nearly failing 5th grade, and who everyone likes (including me). Not sure what that says.

2. Slight annoyance with yet another juvenile story where the main character supposedly loves books, but never takes a second to read them (or, in this case, say anything about them).

2014
http://www.librarything.com/topic/163456#4536320

An amusing chapter book with a fantastical element: a guinea pig that can do tricks and act as well as any dog. All Rufus wants is a dog but his father is dead set against it. His mother's solution is to buy him a guinea pig which is no solution at all. Rufus stubbornly names it Fido and hopes they'll get to return it to the pet store, but he later realizes the pig is pretty good at following commands and doing tricks, so much so, that Rufus becomes the envy of his classmates.

Elly says: Fun to read, aimed at 8 - 10 year-olds, Rufus, 5th grade, wants a dog, obsessively neat-nik anti-germ dad refuses, mom brings him a guinea pig that actually acts like a dog. Many misadventures at home and school when Roo tries to hide the fact that he has a guinea pig named Fido and not a dog. Father and mother are cartoony, Roo and his friend are more realistic. Rivalry between Roo and another boy is believeable. Finally acceptance comes more from others saying Fido is cool rather than Roo deciding he doesn't really care what others think, he likes the guinea pig just fine. Still a nice story for younger readers.

A quick fun read that's not too challenging for third grade readers. And best of all, its by a Washington state author. One of the things I found appealing about this book was the idea....what if a guinea pig acted like a dog. I had a cat who would fetch and go for walks with me, very uncatlike behaviors. So maybe it really could happen.

This was a great book for children in grades 3-5. Even though the main character was a boy, I feel that girls will like this also as there are minor female characters in the book too. It was quite funny and I thought the characters were realistic and believable. The plot moved at a good pace and you wanted to know how the story ended.