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Searching... West End | Book | PICTURE MEADE | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
A life of nibbling grains and burrowing in straw is perfect for ordinary guinea pigs. Then again, it's perfectly boring for guinea pigs as extraordinary as John Willy and Freddy McGee! So, of course, when their cage door is left open, these two daring friends take the chance to escape. Out into the world they go, afraid of nothing. That is, until they suddenly hear--while inside the tunnels of a pool table: TAP! wumba BONK! tap-tap wumba BONK! Off they go again--this time back to their cage, but not for long! The wonderful cut paper pictures of Caldecott Honor artist Holly Meade take young children on an adventure they will thoroughly enjoy.
Reviews (2)
Horn Book Review
(Preschool) Guinea pigs John Willy and Freddy McGee find their seemingly perfect life (plenty of seeds, grains, and carrots to eat, a water bottle to drink from, a big pile of straw) ""BORING."" So when the cage door is left open, they make a run for it, chasing through the house, until ""with a grunt and a squeak, they climbed UP and INTO the pool table!"" With its many holes and tunnels, the pool table seems like guinea pig heaven until the family cat begins batting the balls into the pockets, frightening the intruders away and back to their cage-but not for long. Meade's fresh mixed-media illustrations combine bold black lines, loose brush strokes, and cut-paper collage into a surprisingly realistic depiction of guinea pigs and their surroundings. The rather breathless text must be read aloud with gusto, as it is reminiscent of some of Margaret Wise Brown's Noisy books or Marjorie Flack's Angus books, with plenty of sound effects and manipulated text to indicate tempo, pitch, and dynamics. The pool table scenes in particular combine typesetting with large cut-paper words such as ""TAP,"" ""BONK,"" and ""BONKITY-BONK!-BONK!"" Meade has immersed herself in the guinea pig world of the here and now, creating a book that should appeal to all who long to slip their cages. lolly robinson (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Meade (Minfong Ho's Hush!, 1996, etc.) solos for this fine adventure about John Willy and Freddy McGee, guinea pigs whose caged existence is boring. On the day when the cage door is left open, the two daredevils scoot out and start to explore, through the living room and into the game room, where they find the great green landscape (and tunnels) of a pool table. John Willy and Freddy McGee are busy cruising the tunnels when the cat that has been observing them tries to drive the pair into the open by dropping balls into the pockets. John Willy and Freddy McGee are banged about and nearly squashed, but effect an escape and scurry back to the cage and safety. Don't think of this as a cautionary tale on the perils of taking risks; instead, John Willy and Freddy McGee are the Lewis and Clark of their breed, finding not only the will to venture out, but the sense to know when it's time to go home. Particularly remarkable is how Meade, through impressive cut-paper pictures, captures the guinea pigs in their vacant, caged stage, and then, with little anthropomorphization, fashions two personable adventurers, full of brio. (Picture book. 3-8)
