Happy Gallivanting Guinea Pigs!

Like most stories, there were lots of beginnings. My faithful guinea pig Henry, who shared various student cramped apartments with me in London. He was quite a character, and especially loved rolling apples around the floor. (He loved chewing electrical cords too, though that didn’t seem a good thing to add in the book.)
Samantha comes from a mixture of kids I’ve worked with, known or respected. She was one of those fully formed characters when she arrived, so it’s harder to see where she comes from. However her reading dog idea comes from the daughter of the Girl Scout leader who initiated the Nim’s Island Girl Scout patch. When we visited, the girl took me to her school, and I met the reading dog there…
And I absolutely love the pictures, by Patricia Castelao! Thanks, Patricia.
Wanted! A Guinea Pig Called Henry is published by Henry Holt in hardcover, paperback and kindle, and can be purchased directly from them, from independent book stores, Barnes and Noble, Chapters or amazon.com or amazon.ca
Wendy Orr is a Canadian-born Australian writer. Her books for children and adults have been published in 27 countries and won awards around the world. Nim’s Island and Nim at Sea have also become feature films, starring Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin (Nim’s Island) and Bindi Irwin (Return to Nim’s Island.) Her latest book is Cuckoo’s Flight, a companion to the highly acclaimed Bronze Age novels Dragonfly Song and Swallow’s Dance. Read full bio
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