PeeWee's Tale

Rating:
Summary: PEEWEE's TALE
Review: "A charming chapter book for newly independant 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." --School Library Journal

Rating:
Summary: PEEWEE'S TALE
Review: "A guinea pig narrates Hurwitz's 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." --Publishers Weekly

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Summary: Pee Wee rates high for my pee-wee reader!
Review: My son learned to read using Johanna Hurwitz's marvelous Russell/Riverside Kids series, and so we were very excited to begin Pee Wee's Tale. We were not disappointed! The animal story is a nice diversion from Hurwitz's more realistic fiction, but still has all of her markings as an author: humor, empathy and strong characterization. Yes, my son was concerned about the guinea pig's plight, and yes, the release of the guinea pig into the park raised an eyebrow...but it also incited some wonderful discussion about caring for pets and how animals adapt in the wild. Besides being an exciting and provocative chapter book for emergent readers, I think this would make a great classroom read-aloud, and I am giving it as a gift to my son's teacher! Also, don't miss Lexi's Tale, the sequel from a squirrely point of view!

Rating:
Summary: Adorable Book for Young Reader's
Review: PeeWee, a small guinea pig, is born in Casey's Pet Shop, along with his four siblings, where his Mother takes care of them all. As they begin to grow, PeeWee becomes interested in the scraps of newspaper lining his cage, and soon his Mother is teaching him how to read, as she used to be the class pet in an elementary school, and learned alongside all of the children. Before long, PeeWee is adopted by a nice man, who brings him home as a birthday present for his nephew. Things are good for a while, until the boy goes away, and somehow PeeWee finds himself all alone in New York City's Central Park. Lucky for him, he meets up with Lexi, a very street-wise squirrel, who takes Pee-Wee under his tail, and begins showing him the ropes of living in the wild. Soon PeeWee is torn between searching for his owner, and his nice safe cage, or staying in the depths of Central Park, where he has to fend for his life.

Being someone who has loved guinea pigs all of her life, and has owned many in the past (all have sadly passed away), I couldn't resist picking up PEEWEE'S TALE at the bookstore. The cover alone sold me, but the plot of the story made me even more eager to purchase the book. Johanna Hurwitz has created a fantastic story completely narrated and explained by a group of adorable animals, namely PeeWee, much in the same fashion of Betty Boegehold (Here's Pippa!). The art, by Patience Brewster, is amazing, and resembles the animals so closely that you actually feel that you are looking at a photograph. Children of all ages, along with their parents, will love reading about PeeWee's adventures, and looking at the beautiful drawings that accompany them.

Erika Sorocco

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Summary: A note from the author
Review: When an author sits down to write a book, she/he uses many elements: fact, memory and imagination. My book about PeeWee began with fact. I read an article in the New York Times telling of 45 guinea pigs set loose in Central Park because their owner faced eviction by his landlord. A few days later, a second story told that most were captured, sent to an animal shelter, and put up for adoption. Starting with that fact, I began to imagine what would happen to a single guinea pig that was not found. Memory came to play because I recalled the parents of two of my own children's friends. Both released pet kittens onto the city streets when their children were not home because they felt stressed and unable to continue the responsibility of pet ownership. As the owner of two pet cats myself, I was shocked when I heard what these parents had done. And finally, when I sat down to write about that little guinea pig, my imagination took over. Suddenly, the little guinea pig was looking at the newspaper scraps in his cage and discovering the mystery of the printer letter. His wise mother, who grew up in a first grade classroom, teaches him how to read. His reading skills together with his friendship with a street smart squirrel named Lexi helpt she hero of the fantasy survive.

Here is another news story that I have not written about: a few years ago, a crate of tropical parrots broken open at Kennedy Airport. The small green birds flew free and everyone predicted that they would soon die in the cold and hostile climate of the New York area. But as recently as a week ago, a cousin of mine who lives in Connecticut saw two dozen of these parrots in a local park. Somehow, they have adapted and continued to live and reproduce despite cold weather, snow, different vegetation and new enemies. Like human immigrants before them, they are learning to live and thrive here. It's my favorite kind of story - one with a happy ending.