Natale Ghent

The review of part of the Early Reviewers program. Millhouse is a guinea pig who lives in a pet shop. His passion is the theatre, particularly Shakespeare. The book says that it is geared to the middle years. While the book is well written, I found it very dark and not appropriate for younger children, even for a read aloud. The other animals are constantly bullying Millhouse and there is some questionable language for children. Although the story ends in a more positive tone, I would not recommend this book. The story is too dark for younger children and would not hold the interest for older children.… (meer)

Millhouse is not your typical guinea pig. His owner passed away and now he is in a pet shop full of other guinea pigs and pets who do not understand his love for the theater. To make matters worse, Millhouse does not look like your typical guinea pig either, he is hairless. All the other pets at the shop make fun of Millhouse, especially when he acts out his favorite theater scenes. As Millhouse finds a few who love his theatrics, he also gets himself into sticky situations.

This book is begging to be read out loud! I love they way the author writes the dialogue and gives each pet in the shop an unique, almost human-like personality. It reminds me of THE WILD ROBOT by Peter Brown and how fun that was to read aloud to my fifth-grade class. If you are looking to read aloud a book to your own child or to an elementary class, this must be put on your read aloud list!… (meer)