John Willy and Freddy McGee [Hardcover]

Holly Meade (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998 | Age Level: 4 and up

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With handsome large-scale gouache and cut-paper pictures, the Caldecott Honor illustrator (Hush! A Thai Lullaby) sends the title characters, two bored pet guinea pigs who escape from their cage, on an eventful romp through the house. They make straight for the pool table. As Meade's playfully repetitive narrative explains, "Guinea pigs don't care at all about playing pool. They DO care about scurrying around and around in tunnels. They liked being inside the pool table. They liked it a lot." After the household cat (introduced in the art only) rolls balls through the table's pockets and into the guinea pigs' crawl space, the two scamper back to their cage, evidently relieved to be "home at last" (or not?the ending literally leaves the door open for another adventure). Readers will happily trace the adventurous protagonists' path in the lighthearted artwork. Meade's palette changes with virtually every spread, as each room in the house has a different color scheme. The pool-table sequence is particularly inspired, with the "tunnels" laid out against black backdrops while colored, oversize type supplies sound effects ("tap... bonkity-bonk!"). Susan L. Roth's Cinammon's Day Out (reviewed June 15), offers a similar plot featuring a roving gerbil; there the treatment is a bit more tender. This one, by contrast, has a mischievous streak. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-John Willy and Freddy McGee have everything they need in their comfortable cage-food, water, straw-"It is so perfect. It is so BORING." When the door is mistakenly left open, the impetuous guinea pigs venture out into the house. After scurrying across the floor and climbing up a chair back, they launch themselves onto a pool table and run through the long, narrow tunnels. Meanwhile, above their heads, a curious cat sets danger in motion with the swat of a paw and, as billiard balls begin to roll, the rodents experience a few tight moments. Finally, with the cat in pursuit, the friends retrace their steps and make a dash for the safety of home. Then, after a couple of relieved sighs, the intrepid travelers spy the open door and head out for another adventure. Meade's colorful, cut-paper collages work in harmony with her text, adding details and extending the action of the story. Broad, double-page spreads show the guinea pigs' route, while close-ups of the animals highlight their personalities. In the tunnel-view scene showing Freddy McGee's close call, a black background focuses the eye on the confrontation, while the sound effects ("BONKITY BONK! BONK!) appear in jaunty orange and yellow type. A fine tale of two courageous creatures and their indelible spirit of discovery.
Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761450335
• ISBN-13: 978-0761450337
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #586,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anyone who loves guinea pigs, not just for kids, July 22, 2002

By 

R. Kelly Wagner "[e-mail]" (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: John Willy and Freddy McGee (Hardcover)

Those of us who love guinea pigs can become addicted; we can become fanatics. And why not? They're cute, they're cuddly, they're charming. This book may be a story for children, but it emphasizes the playful nature of guinea pigs that outsiders are unaware of.

Many people think of small cage pets as boring - well, you'd be boring too, if you spent your whole life in a room only a little larger than you are! But give a guinea pig room to explore, and explore he will. Real guinea pigs explore rooms in trains (one piggle behind another); these two piggies illustrate this behavior excellently. Real piggies push balls around with their noses, run through PVC tubes or ferret tubes, and occasionally tease larger pets by running under their noses; John Willie and Freddy McGee again illustrate this real behavior, in an amusing way.

The pictures are great - they'll have you saying "I know a guinea pig that looks like that!" The text is minimal, as would be expected, but what there is, is amusing. Words are not confined to one-syllable words; the author is aware that young children may have a receptive vocabulary larger than their speaking vocabulary, and also is aware that a book should be amusing for the adult who may have to read it 80 times in a row for their child.

I own this book and I don't even have children; other adults who visit us and are amused by our pet guinea pigs wind up taking this book off our shelves and reading it all the way through. Sometimes, it never makes it back off the coffee table and onto the shelf, because friends keep reading it. Buy your own copy, people!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful to read and see!, November 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: John Willy and Freddy McGee (Hardcover)

John Willy and Freddy McGee have a wonderful time, and so will anyone else who reads this delightful book. This book is perfect for reading aloud. The story flows so well you might miss the beautiful illustrations-so take your time and read it over and over! This is a definite "must have" for any child's library. Thanks Holly.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun book to read over and over!, September 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: John Willy and Freddy McGee (Hardcover)

Everyone in our family LOVED reading about the adventures of John Willie and Freddy McGee. From the start, these two curious guinea pigs with interesting names kept all of us laughing and looking forward to the next page. The colorful pictures along with lively descriptions kept us interested in their adventures from beginning to end. Although our Kindergartener brought this book home from the school library, our 2nd grader and our 6th grader read it often and loved it too. It has truly become one of my own personal favorites. This is a book any parent wouldn't mind reading over and over again.