A Guinea Pig Night before Christmas

Guinea Pig classics, photographed by Phillip Beresford, sets made and designed by Tess Newall. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020 ISBN: 9781526613561.
(Age: All) Recommended. Guinea pigs photographed in cute costumes are the feature of this rendering of the classic Christmas story The night before Christmas. The publishers have not changed the text of the original poem at all, they have just used the guinea pigs and a cute little stuffed mouse as the"actors" in this story. The detail of each costume is amazing, my favourite being the line of guinea pig reindeers in the centre of the book, priceless.
Many children who saw this book commented that the lead reindeer was not Rudolf, but the publishers have added 'the ninth reindeer' in a cute little cameo at the end of the book with an explanation as to why he doesn't appear in the original poem. There is a brief paragraph towards the back of the book about pets being abandoned around the Christmas season reminding us that we can support local rescue centres with donations in the holiday season. The Guinea Pig actors are also credited at the end of the book.
This book is one of a growing number of adorable titles in this series with some of the other titles including The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol, A Guinea Pig Nativity, Romeo and Juliet, Oliver Twist and Pride and Prejudice. A Facebook page "Guinea Pig classics" is also mentioned by the publishers on their website. Themes: Christmas, Guinea pigs, Classic stories.
Gabrielle Anderson