Sam could never have guessed all the excitement that would follow her first visit to Rainbow Street shelter. Not only does she find a pet to love, but she becomes friends with Mona, who runs the shelter, and meets all the cute and quirky animals who live there, waiting to find a new home of their own.
We call my 8-year-old son The Guinea Pig Whisperer. When I 'overheard' Wendy Orr tweeting about the release of Wanted! A Guinea Pig Called Henry on Twitter a few weeks before my son's birthday, I knew that it would be the perfect gift for him and I wasn't wrong. He loved the story, although he did comment that it takes a few chapters before Henry finally appears.
The book is suitable for confident young readers looking for a more involved story to read for themselves, but it is also perfect for parents to read as a bedtime story over a few nights. There is more to the story than Sam's search for a pet and there are lots of gentle reminders that pets need to be cared for and loved to be happy. I also love that children (and parents) are encouraged to consider rescuing a pet from a shelter rather than buying one from a pet shop and reminded that the need to really think about what kind of pet would best suit their home and lifestyle.
Wanted! A Guinea Pig Called Henry is the third book in the Rainbow Street Shelter series and it comes highly recommended by both myself and The Guinea Pig Whisperer.
Title: Wanted! A Guinea Pig Called Henry (Rainbow Street Shelter series)
Author: Wendy Orr
Illustrator: Patricia Castelao
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co, $14.99 RRP
Publication Date: 27 March 2012
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780805094626
For ages: 5 - 9
Type: Junior fiction
