Your Guinea Pig

September 1, 1995
Gr. 4^-6. Curran, a 4-H leader, gives kids the complete lowdown on guinea pigs: how to select them, breed them, feed them, and show them. The information is very clearly presented, with lots of pictures and charts to bolster the text. Besides the basics, Curran gets into some rather esoteric information, for instance, how to tattoo or tag a guinea pig's ear and how to cut its toenails. The tattooing and tagging procedures, particularly, seem like activities that might warrant having an adult present, but this seems to be a guide that encourages kids to do for themselves. Curran even informs readers how to treat anal impaction! A reference guide to the diseases and conditions that may affect guinea pigs is appended, as is a glossary. ((Reviewed Sept. 1, 1995))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1995, American Library Association.)