PeeWee's Tale

July 31, 2000
A guinea pig narrates Hurwitz's (One Small Dog) endearing story of the furry fellow's adventures in New York's Central Park. Nine-year-old Robbie, though disappointed when his uncle gives him a guinea pig rather than a puppy for his birthday ("I ran around inside my cage, trying to act like a puppy," says the narrator), soon grows fond of PeeWee. Not so his skittish mother who, one day while Robbie is at a sleepover, instructs her husband to set the critter loose in Central Park. PeeWee is at loose ends in this alien environment, but his new pal, Lexi the squirrel, passes on survival strategies (e.g., "Don't count your nuts until they are shelled"). PeeWee responds in kind by using his unorthodox skill: he learned to read from his mother, who lived in a cage in a schoolroom, and warns Lexi about the city's plan to cut down the tree that Lexi calls home. Through PeeWee's perspective, Hurwitz delivers some humorous and insightful observations about the urban outdoors and brings the tale to a satisfying resolution. Brewster's engaging, black-and-white spot art will draw readers into this story, and the smaller-than-average trim size complements its diminutive star. Ages 7-10.

October 1, 2000
Gr 2-4-A charming chapter book for newly independent readers. Your average guinea pig would be ill-equipped for the rigors of life in New York City's Central Park, but PeeWee is far from average. He has learned to read from the newspaper scraps on the bottom of his cage. That talent alone isn't enough to protect him from the myriad perils of the park, but fortunately PeeWee also befriends a squirrel who teaches him how to watch his back. The story is loaded with simple, generally nonintrusive messages about the values of friendship, freedom, and reading. PeeWee is an appealing protagonist, intelligent and resourceful and brave when it really counts. The park's animal inhabitants always act in character for their various species as they scratch, scamper, and dig their way around their leafy urban home. Brewster's black-and-white drawings depict PeeWee and his squirrel friend as rumpled, big-eyed cuties, but PeeWee's many brushes with danger provide more than enough drama to offset the occasionally excessive sweetness of the illustrations.-Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VT

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2000
Gr. 2-5. Most guinea pigs can't read, but PeeWee is different. His mother, who was born in a kindergarten, has taught him what she knows. When he's left in the park, he learns the value of his gift--and also the benefits of friendship, freedom, street savvy, and rainwater. PeeWee's squirrel friend, Lexie, saves him from dogs, and PeeWee's ability to read alerts Lexie to the impending doom of the squirrel's favorite tree. At times this chapter book has the whimsical feel of George Selden's "Cricket in "Times Square (1961")"; at other times it is didactic: "There "was" pleasure in reading. It was not just for me, the reader, but for everyone who heard me say the words," exclaims PeeWee, after discovering poetry. The pen-and-ink illustrations by Patience Brewster are adorable and will no doubt have many children clamoring for a guinea pig of their own. \plain\f2\fs17 (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)