Tuesday, December 16, 2014

The Misadventures of Sweetie Pie by Chris Van Allsburg - OPTIONAL



Van Allsburg, Chris.  The Misadventures of Sweetie Pie.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. $18.99.  PICTURE BOOK.

EL-OPTIONAL

No one wanted the last hamster at the pet store.  Finally a little girl took him home, but she ignored him.  The little girl then sells him to a boy with a dog who scared him.  The boy then gave him to his Cousin Sue who tried to put the poor hamster in a doll’s dress.  She put him in an exercise ball and Sweetie Pie ran away and got lost.  From there to another home where the mother thought he was a rat.  Then to a school class, but a boy left him outside on the playground when he was supposed to take him home over the holiday vacation.  Finally, the hamster found the perfect home in a tree with a squirrel.  No more cages.   

Having owned a hamster as a child I could relate to this story.  I was very excited to get a hamster, but soon grew bored of it.  But for the hamster-lovers out there, it is kind of an awkward story about cages being like prison and the children aren’t very nice or very responsible.  The watercolor illustrations have a lovely traditional picture book feel, but the story didn’t work for me.      



Samantha Hastings, MA, MLS.

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