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Rating: 
Summary: Charmingly told, with an unusual protagonist
Review: "Little Whistle's Dinner Party" is charmingly told by author Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Tim Bowers. Rylant relates the tale of Little Whistle--a guinea pig happily ensconced in a toy store--and the dinner party he throws for all his toy friends. Rylant takes the secret wish of every child (that toys really do come alive when we're not looking) and turns it into a vivacious party, complete with detailed party preparations. Although the story ends on a rather abrupt note--to the point that I wondered if perhaps the last page had inadvertently been torn out of our copy--the story itself is so dear that children will hardly notice. Tim Bowers does a super job of upping the adorability factor in this sweet book. Recommended especially for children who own guinea pigs!
Rating:
Summary: Charmingly told, with an unusual protagonist
Review: "Little Whistle's Dinner Party" is charmingly told by author Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Tim Bowers. Rylant relates the tale of Little Whistle--a guinea pig happily ensconced in a toy store--and the dinner party he throws for all his toy friends. Rylant takes the secret wish of every child (that toys really do come alive when we're not looking) and turns it into a vivacious party, complete with detailed party preparations. Although the story ends on a rather abrupt note--to the point that I wondered if perhaps the last page had inadvertently been torn out of our copy--the story itself is so dear that children will hardly notice. Tim Bowers does a super job of upping the adorability factor in this sweet book. Recommended especially for children who own guinea pigs!
Rating: 
Summary: Charming Story for Young Readers
Review: Little Whistle, a young store guinea pig, awakes one night feeling famished, so, being the kind young soul that he is, he invites all of his friends (the toys in the toy department who come to life when the store closes every night) to a special dinner party, thrown by Little Whistle himself. There's so much Little Whistle must do now. He has to prepare everyone's marvelous meals, pick out a pretty tea set that will accommodate all of his guests, and find some delicious treats that everyone will enjoy. Finally everything is ready, and all of Little Whistle's many guest appear at his cage. However, Little Whistle is nowhere in sight, and it's pretty hard to throw a good dinner party without the guest of honor himself.
Cynthia Rylant has a true knack for writing children's books, as she always writes them in a way that even the youngest readers will understand. Her words capture a childs imagination instantly, and her decisions in plots are right up a young childs alley, as who doesn't want to believe that their toys come to life whenever they go to bed. Filled with a words that are familiar to young readers, an extremely enjoyable, likable, and adorable young character, and utterly gorgeous illustrations by the talented Tim Bowers, LITTLE WHISTLE'S DINNER PARTY is sure to be a hit with all.
Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper
Rating:
Summary: Little Whistle: future classic children's character?
Review: Rylant and Bowers have found new fans in my daughter and me. This delightful little book captured my 3 1/2 year old's imagination with its story of a guinea pig that lives in a toy store where the toys come alive after the store closes for the night. Little Whistle invites his toy friends to a dinner party. Pushing a little toy shopping cart, he shops for an oven, a tea pot, and china cups and plates. Then he busily prepares for dinner the treats he has been saving in the corner of his cage. He arrives at the party in a helicopter bearing Lion's favorite food - vanilla cookies! The pictures are absolutely fantastic. Tim Bowers is one of the best children's books artists I've seen. You can't help but love the main character and want to find more stories about him. The book isn't perfect. A few lines in this simple story are redundant with the first book in the series ("Little Whistle"), such as Soldier reading stories to the babies and Lion loving vanilla cookies. These qualities of the characters could have been expressed more vividly. The author relegates them to parentheticals, intimating that they are references to the earlier story. Little Whistle wears a pea coat that was given to him in the first book. Without reading the first book, one would wonder what a guinea pig is doing wearing a pea coat. The end of the story could have had a bit more punch, but my reaction may just be the result of regional differences in the use of a term "grocery" for "grocery store." However, my daughter and I enjoyed this book so much that I am seeking out other books in the series and other books by this author and the illustrator. I certainly hope that Rylant and Bowers bring us many more adventures of Little Whistle.
Rating:
Summary: Little Whistle: future classic children's character?
Review: Rylant and Bowers have found new fans in my daughter and me. This delightful little book captured my 3 1/2 year old's imagination with its story of a guinea pig that lives in a toy store where the toys come alive after the store closes for the night. Little Whistle invites his toy friends to a dinner party. Pushing a little toy shopping cart, he shops for an oven, a tea pot, and china cups and plates. Then he busily prepares for dinner the treats he has been saving in the corner of his cage. He arrives at the party in a helicopter bearing Lion's favorite food - vanilla cookies! The pictures are absolutely fantastic. Tim Bowers is one of the best children's books artists I've seen. You can't help but love the main character and want to find more stories about him. The book isn't perfect. A few lines in this simple story are redundant with the first book in the series ("Little Whistle"), such as Soldier reading stories to the babies and Lion loving vanilla cookies. These qualities of the characters could have been expressed more vividly. The author relegates them to parentheticals, intimating that they are references to the earlier story. Little Whistle wears a pea coat that was given to him in the first book. Without reading the first book, one would wonder what a guinea pig is doing wearing a pea coat. The end of the story could have had a bit more punch, but my reaction may just be the result of regional differences in the use of a term "grocery" for "grocery store." However, my daughter and I enjoyed this book so much that I am seeking out other books in the series and other books by this author and the illustrator. I certainly hope that Rylant and Bowers bring us many more adventures of Little Whistle.
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