And Then There Were Gnomes

September 6, 2010
Venable and Yue's clever series about a detective guinea pig continues into its second volume. Sasspants is a very intelligent guinea pig at the pet store who likes to spend her time in quiet, reading. Despite her wishes, she's often interrupted by Hamisher, a flighty and overly adoring hamster. Hamisher, impressed by the mystery solved by Sasspants in the first book, now seeks another mystery for the two to solve (with Hamisher as the sidekick, of course). A mystery soon becomes clear as pet mice are disappearing, and the pet store owner, along with some of the animals, is convinced there's a ghost on the prowl. Sasspants doesn't believe in ghosts, so she has to find a different explanation for the disappearances. Despite the frequent talk of ghosts, the story is never scary. Everything about it could be described as cute, from the art to the characters' personalities. Ages 7–11.

January 1, 2011
When mice disappear and a ghost is discovered in the pet shop, guinea pig Sasspants reluctantly agrees to help hamster Hamisher figure out what's happening. In weak attempts at humor, the animals are frequently unpleasant to each other and the shopkeeper mislabels the pets. The story is told through occasionally hard-to-follow comic panels. Facts about some animals are included.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)