cover image What Would Guinea Do?

What Would Guinea Do?

Kate Duke. Dutton Books, $12.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-525-44378-0

The Guinea Pig ABC came first, then four guinea-pig board books and Guinea Pigs Far and Near. Now these little furballs face three problems: how to clean a house (Stick a hose in and rinse it out? Get someone else to clean it?), how to bake a cake (recipes are abandoned) and how to be somebody else (through the addition of feathers or high heels). Duke's pigs make disasters look like terrific fun, and the only foreseeable problem with this book is to make sure that small guinea-pig fans don't take some of these situations to heart and start baking and cleaning in similar fashion. The artist's palette is a crazy quilt of pastels on a bright white background; small ballrooms identify the cartoon-style dialogue, and the entire book is a joyful offering. Ages 3-7. (March)