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SAMMY by Alix Berenzy

SAMMY

The Classroom Guinea Pig

by Alix Berenzy & illustrated by Alix Berenzy

Pub Date: July 1st, 2005
ISBN: 0-8050-4024-2
Publisher: Henry Holt

Though somewhat didactic, Berenzy’s latest is an engaging and informative primer for kids with classroom pets. Berenzy puts the focus on Sammy, and begins by describing his home: “He had hay to chew on, water to drink, and a round block of salt to lick.” Later she mentions one of Sammy’s favorite treats, “freshly cut grass,” which students are careful not to collect from the roadside “where it could be polluted by cars and other animals.” Setting them against a cream-colored background, Berenzy suffuses her pastel-and-pencil illustrations with a hazy light. Each vignette is a snapshot of Sammy and the classroom in which he lives. They’re realistic, yet cute, especially when Sammy curls up in a ball, then tilts his head back and lets out a “WHEEP!” What Sammy really wants is love and attention, the students soon see, and that’s the best lesson of all. (Picture book. 6-9)