"It was a beautiful day, and William the guinea pig was bored."
It's another fun story book with happy, furry animals - but it's well-written, with a message about why children should listen to their mothers. I like how early on, the book shows the dilemma of William, the young white-and-tan guinea pig. "His mother could always find things to do, but they were dull, guinea-pig things."
There's a great illustration showing the arrival of Stella the squirrel. Her enormous head appears in the top of the doorway, since she's hanging upside down from a branch in a tree. Stella's fluffy tail shines in the sun behind her, and she's waving a white-furred little paw. Her dark eyes look bright and cheerful, but her uninhibited joy could spell trouble for the innocent little guinea pig.
The illustrations are by Catherine Walters, and they emphasize all the right emotions in the story. When the guinea pig dreams of hopping through the trees with the squirrel, she draws the trees filled with white blossoms. William sees himself with a happy smile that's matched by the enthusiastic smile on Stella the squirrel. It's a fun drawing that's beautifully colored - but it also furthers the guinea pig's temptation to slip out of his family's hutch.
Patrick Cooper wrote the text, and he paces it very well, using careful story-telling to gradually build up the tension. The squirrel "chittered" at the guinea pig's door, "Come into the woods and play," though William points out that he can't, because obviously the door of the hutch is locked. But soon the squirrel has loosened the latch, and the two animals run across a sunny, flowered-covered field. There's more flowers in the illustrations when they've reached the words, but there's also darker colors and a sense of mystery.
Cooper is a qualified social worker, according to the book's jacket, and also wrote and directed children's theatre productions (where he also worked as a puppeteer). Maybe that's where he learned how to lead a story to a dramatic climax. Soon the guinea pig is out in the wood, when a passing blackbird warns him that a dangerous fox is approaching. The poor young guinea pig hasn't learned how to find a hiding spot in the woods!
It's a surprisingly intriguing story, and with lots of warm and sunny illustrations. Eventually, the little guinea pig is rescued by his mother, and they end up snuggling together. "And William," she adds, giving him one last warning.
"Never trust a squirrel."