BRUNO AND TITCH

It could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship….

Titch, a chubby guinea pig with a winsome mohawk, waits anxiously, Corduroy-like, in his glass box in the pet shop for a Big Person to adopt him. A boy named Bruno sits in his room wishing for his very own guinea pig. Titch’s efforts to attract an owner pay off when Bruno finds him and takes him home. Titch’s excitement at finally being adopted is tempered with anxiety about the strange habits of his new young owner, who uses the hapless guinea pig as a prop in his wacky experiments. The sedate little pet is not well-adapted to floating in the tub in a saucepan, being flown aloft in a makeshift balloon or hurtling down a track on a homemade train. He gets really worried when Bruno starts planning something big that Titch does not understand. All is well, however, when the final creation is revealed: a “great guinea-pig palace of fun,” complete with Jacuzzi, hammock, convenient celery garden, a snack train bearing Titch’s favorite fruit and “Poo Hut.” Titch realizes that in spite of their different personalities, the pet and his owner are becoming the best of friends. Dempsey’s insightful text and charming pen, pencil and watercolor illustrations are filled with intriguing details that will fuel conversations about what is involved in choosing a pet—as well as plenty of laughs.

The charismatic Titch may well spark a guinea-pig bubble; he’s that cute.