Guinea Pigs Go Gardening

"Blue-gray Bob and pumpkin-colored Ginger, both anthropomorphic gourd-shaped guinea pigs with thin-lined features, are best friends who adore working in their shared garden, each winter planning the following year’s yield. Come spring, the two weed the plot, augment the soil with their homemade compost (made from “fallen leaves, straw, vegetable scraps, and cut grass... as well as used cardboard and newspaper”), measure rows, and plant seeds. Predators, including slugs and pigeons, prove pesky, but the rodents prevail, harvesting their crops and making jam and pie with the bounty. Sheehy’s illustrations beguilingly recall vintage picture books in both style and color palette; occasional scrawled notations indicate supplemental facts (“Plants use light to make their own food”). The detailed narrative may lose the attention of casual readers, but those interested in horticulture will appreciate each detailed how-to. Endpapers include gardening tips and information on pollination and pollinators. Ages 3–5. (Feb.)" –Publishers Weekly

“Bob and Ginger are guinea pigs and expert gardeners who cheerfully provide advice as they face the unexpected in their own garden throughout the harvesting seasons. As guinea pigs, Bob and Ginger are properly motivated as herbivores to munch on garden fare and are not afraid of hard work. Sheehy illustrates the entire process of creating a garden, including how to mulch, compost, grid areas, irrigate, and harvest at different types of year. Once Bob and Ginger have their garden in place, it is clear that other obstacles await them. Weeds encroach on their produce, as do snails and pigeons, and the guinea pigs must solve these problems quickly. Using a warm, bright color palette, the digital artwork features double-page spread splash pages and smaller vignettes focused on specific tasks in clear detail. The text varies in size and boldness, which works in small doses for emphasis but at other times is distracting. End papers expound on gardening tips and pollination. VERDICT An enthusiastic offering, and additional purchase for libraries where gardening and outdoor picture books are in short supply.” –School Library Journal