Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express
Illustrator: Peter H. Reynolds
Fiction Series
For ages 6 to 8
Candlewick, 2008 ISBN: 978-0763628352
Stink and his two friends, Sophie and Webster, are working together to create a very small version of the Great Wall of China using cereal boxes. Stink takes his cereal box contribution to Webster’s house and the three children set about building their wall. When the wall is complete, they admire their creation only to realize that the wall of boxes is moving. There is something alive inside the boxes!
The three children soon discover that their uninvited guests are three guinea pigs. They have no idea how the little animals got inside the boxes so they decide to go down to Fur & Fangs, the local pet shop, to ask Mrs. Birdwhistle if she can help them to figure out where the little animals came from.
When they get to the store it is overrun with squeaking and whistling guinea pigs. Apparently Mrs. Birdwhistle rescued one hundred and one guinea pigs from a terrible life, which was a wonderful thing to do of course, but now she has no idea how she is going to find homes for the little animals. The three piggies in the children’s Great Wall of China must have someone escaped from the pet store.
Stink, Sophie, and Webster decide to help Mrs. Birdwhistle, so they walk around the neighborhood trying to find people who will be willing to adopt a guinea pig. Not a single person wants one of the homeless rodents, and so Stink decides to launch Operation Guinea Pig. Stink and his friends convert an old camper van into a mobile guinea pig adoption agency, The Guinea Pig Express, or "Squeals on Wheels." The plan is to drive the guinea pigs to the kinds of places where potential guinea pig loving people congregate. Hopefully, the children and Mrs. Birdwhistle will be able to find homes for their furry bundles of whistles and purrs.
Children who like animals, especially children who like guinea pigs, are going to love this Stink adventure. The tale is packed with funny adventures and even readers who don’t care for little rodents will feel their hearts softening as they read about one hundred and one homeless guinea pigs.
In addition to the story, the author provides readers with lots of guinea pigs facts, just in case they are considering getting a guinea pig of their own.
