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Guinea Dog #3
Guinea Dog 3
When Rufus, Murphy, Lurena, and their pets go camping, they meet Pedro, a shy boy who seems afraid of just about everything―especially the water. One thing leads to another and the kids go into a nearby town to buy him a pet to cheer him up―a guinea pig, naturally. Yet what they bring home may look like a guinea pig, but it can swim―like an otter!
Pick up the latest installment of this award-winning, hilariously funny middle-grade series!
Pick up the latest installment of this award-winning, hilariously funny middle-grade series!
176 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2014
16 people are currently reading
335 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
February 17, 2021
I listened to this book on one 2.5 mile walk with my Max, my puppy-son, on February 14, 2021!
Thankfully, nothing bad happened to Rufus or Fido in this book! While Dmitry and his family did go on their lake trip with Rufus's family, Dmitry seemed much calmer so I didn't fear for Rufus while reading this book!
I really enjoyed this series. It was a fun read! I never laughed or cried while listening to any of the books, though, so four stars seems to be best rating I can give!
In this book, Petopia was rediscovered near to where they were camping! So they went and found another guinea pig for sale. Which they bought for Murphy, but ended up giving to Pablo, a boy they met at the lake campground! This guinea pig doesn't behave like a dog or squirrel, though, instead it behaves more like an otter!
Again, I really enjoyed this series! All of the guinea pigs were great! And I liked Rufus and his mother, Murphy and Buddy (his dog; I think that was her name), and I rather liked Lorena as well!
Thankfully, nothing bad happened to Rufus or Fido in this book! While Dmitry and his family did go on their lake trip with Rufus's family, Dmitry seemed much calmer so I didn't fear for Rufus while reading this book!
I really enjoyed this series. It was a fun read! I never laughed or cried while listening to any of the books, though, so four stars seems to be best rating I can give!
In this book, Petopia was rediscovered near to where they were camping! So they went and found another guinea pig for sale. Which they bought for Murphy, but ended up giving to Pablo, a boy they met at the lake campground! This guinea pig doesn't behave like a dog or squirrel, though, instead it behaves more like an otter!
Again, I really enjoyed this series! All of the guinea pigs were great! And I liked Rufus and his mother, Murphy and Buddy (his dog; I think that was her name), and I rather liked Lorena as well!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2021
The trilogy, complete... what a world
July 26, 2021
Lurena singlehandedly carried this series <3
August 2, 2018
If I could give this book 4.5 stars, I would. It's the third of a three book series, and I'm sad to see the series end. They don't have the most captivating plot, but the story is cute. I love stories with animals as part of the plot, so this series particularly appealed to me. This book in particular does a great job of wrapping up some of the unanswered questions from the previous books. I did think it was a bit odd that they introduced a whole new character right at the end of the series. It seems they left a lot of room for more books in the series, but considering how long it's been, I assume that's not going to happen. Whether or not it does, it's a cute book and a fun series that I would recommend it to anyone interested in realistic fiction with tween protagonists.
October 23, 2020
5 stars from Miss 5. She loves the Guinea Dog series so much that she listened to all three books sequentially by audiobook and was fascinated by them. She loves the idea of a guinea pig that thinks she's a dog and would pause the books so she could excitedly talk about them with me. The books also inspired her to switch from bunnies to guinea pigs on our petting farm visits so she can be a guinea pig mummy with a lapful of guinea pigs.
Miss 6 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.
Miss 6 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.
September 8, 2020
Kids enjoyed it, especially the special animal this time, but I'm seriously over Rufus' attitude about Laurena, who's a really good friend that he doesn't deserve, and the mom's inability to see that Dmitri is a jerk. (It would be one thing if he had some redeeming "hard home life" backstory, but that never materializes. Forcing your kid to spend time with a kid who's blatantly mean is not cool.)
But, like I said, the kids enjoyed it, though I think the 10-yr-old is also getting annoyed with the attitude, being a tomboy who hangs out with boys herself. She was just more distracted by the animal aspect this time.
But, like I said, the kids enjoyed it, though I think the 10-yr-old is also getting annoyed with the attitude, being a tomboy who hangs out with boys herself. She was just more distracted by the animal aspect this time.
May 9, 2023
Guinea Dog Collection, Books 1-3
Patrick Jennings
Spend 9 hours reading three childrens novels to have a 25 minute discussion with a student about his favorite books……? Worth it!
This is actually a pretty darn cute series. It is listed as grade 3 reading, but I have no clue how to properly judge if that’s legit or not.
As with any book, there are pros and cons. My least favorite characters were my student’s favorite characters - and vice versa!
4/5
Patrick Jennings
Spend 9 hours reading three childrens novels to have a 25 minute discussion with a student about his favorite books……? Worth it!
This is actually a pretty darn cute series. It is listed as grade 3 reading, but I have no clue how to properly judge if that’s legit or not.
As with any book, there are pros and cons. My least favorite characters were my student’s favorite characters - and vice versa!
4/5
October 9, 2020
Rufus, Murphy, Lurena, and their pets go camping. They meet Pedro, a shy boy who's afraid of the water. The kids go into town to buy him a pet to cheer him up―a guinea pig. Yet what they bring home may look like a guinea pig, but it can swim―like an otter.
I love these books. Fun and funny. A unique plot that changed my thoughts of Guinea Pigs or I should say "Dog."
I love these books. Fun and funny. A unique plot that changed my thoughts of Guinea Pigs or I should say "Dog."
July 20, 2020
The series continues on audio book! We meet a new character, Pablo, who receives a guinea pig who acts like an otter. It is charming and an easy chapter book for a middle grade reader. My 7 and 10 year old boys love the series.
May 16, 2021
My son and I chose this on a whim from the "available now" audiobooks from our library. We hadn't had any experience with Guinea Dog 1 or 2, but it really didn't matter. We liked the narrator and were surprised to find we enjoyed the book.
October 11, 2017
Rating by Bradynn - 5 stars
Rating by Drew - 4 stars
Rating by Drew - 4 stars
January 18, 2020
Another super fun installment in the Guinea Dog series! In this one there are new human friends and new animals. 4 stars!
September 9, 2020
A fun little story with cute, quirky characters. The kids loved it. I liked this one a bit more than the 2nd. Also, can we have more people like Murphy in the world? Coolest kid!
February 17, 2021
audio book
March 31, 2021
Not as good as the first two. The kids really enjoyed these books.
April 1, 2021
You know it’s a good book when the entire family laughs out loud, even the crabby teenagers. We listened to the audiobook on a road trip and all enjoyed it.
August 12, 2021
More good friendships and humor in this 3rd book. I was beginning to lose interest but the girls devoured this story.
February 16, 2024
This series is the best! These had my girls rolling around laughing at the simplest things. Only this author could make guinea pigs so funny! 100% recommend for any one with kids!
Read
December 15, 2024did not read
March 17, 2022
These are all blending together but slightly different setting as the family goes on vacation along with several other families, guinea pig bringing them all together. Humor abounds.
August 6, 2016
"White Crappie Lake Isn't As Bad As It Sounds."
This is the third book in the Guinea Dog series. The original joke was that our hero, Rufus, always wanted a dog, but instead was given a guinea pig. It turns out that this guinea pig thinks it's a dog and acts exactly like a dog. So, what you get is sort of a goof on Rin-Tin-Tin or Lassie, with the star being a guinea pig. The running joke is that Fido came from a mysterious vanishing store named "Petopia"; Petopia appears when needed to provide exactly the right guinea pig/something for a kid who needs a peculiarly perfect pet. Each book features a different kid and a different guinea pig/something else.
This might get old pretty quickly except that Patrick Jennings, (who turned a deft hand at creating winning characters in his recent "Odd, Weird & Little"), has fashioned a great kid hero in Rufus and has surrounded him with an interesting Mom and Dad, a swell best friend Murph, and two entertaining mortal enemies.
Mom is pretty loosey-goosey and Dad is wrapped pretty tight, so what they will do in any given situation is always hard to predict. There are some telling and funny moments when Rufus is either embarassed by his parents' cluelessness or impressed by their occasional glimmers of cool. This is all mild and good-humored, and of course often it's Rufus who doesn't get it.
Rufus is nicely complemented by his best friend who really has been written to be the absolutely best best friend ever. Even tempered, supportive, funny, cheerful, up for anything and cool under pressure, Murph is the ideal BFF, and you get the idea Patrick Jennings had fun writing this ideal sidekick.
The mortal enemies come in two flavors - Dmitri the mean rich kid showoff, who is the classic jerk, and Lurena, an oddball know-it-all who actually has a lot of redeeming qualities and who mainly exists to be misunderstood by Rufus and to straighten him up when he veers too far off the rails.
All four families go off camping together at White Crappie Lake and the heart of the book centers on their adventures, misadventures, lessons learned, and of course the introduction of a new guinea pig/? to a new kid character. All of this is related to us by Rufus, who is the ultimate unreliable narrator, and whose befuddlement and occasional flashes of insight are both great sources of amusement.
Even with the kids' antics this is at bottom a calm and subtle book, and there is a lot of craft hidden below the surface. Although the characters can be types and a family camping trip isn't that novel, our author gets everything pitch perfect and draws a lot of observational humor and some slapstick humor out of the various kids' predicaments. And, Rufus is just good, decent, sometimes clueless but always authentic company.
So, a nice choice, it seems to me, for a middle grade reader with a taste for comic narratives related in a chipper but ultimately bemused style. A very solid series. (Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
This is the third book in the Guinea Dog series. The original joke was that our hero, Rufus, always wanted a dog, but instead was given a guinea pig. It turns out that this guinea pig thinks it's a dog and acts exactly like a dog. So, what you get is sort of a goof on Rin-Tin-Tin or Lassie, with the star being a guinea pig. The running joke is that Fido came from a mysterious vanishing store named "Petopia"; Petopia appears when needed to provide exactly the right guinea pig/something for a kid who needs a peculiarly perfect pet. Each book features a different kid and a different guinea pig/something else.
This might get old pretty quickly except that Patrick Jennings, (who turned a deft hand at creating winning characters in his recent "Odd, Weird & Little"), has fashioned a great kid hero in Rufus and has surrounded him with an interesting Mom and Dad, a swell best friend Murph, and two entertaining mortal enemies.
Mom is pretty loosey-goosey and Dad is wrapped pretty tight, so what they will do in any given situation is always hard to predict. There are some telling and funny moments when Rufus is either embarassed by his parents' cluelessness or impressed by their occasional glimmers of cool. This is all mild and good-humored, and of course often it's Rufus who doesn't get it.
Rufus is nicely complemented by his best friend who really has been written to be the absolutely best best friend ever. Even tempered, supportive, funny, cheerful, up for anything and cool under pressure, Murph is the ideal BFF, and you get the idea Patrick Jennings had fun writing this ideal sidekick.
The mortal enemies come in two flavors - Dmitri the mean rich kid showoff, who is the classic jerk, and Lurena, an oddball know-it-all who actually has a lot of redeeming qualities and who mainly exists to be misunderstood by Rufus and to straighten him up when he veers too far off the rails.
All four families go off camping together at White Crappie Lake and the heart of the book centers on their adventures, misadventures, lessons learned, and of course the introduction of a new guinea pig/? to a new kid character. All of this is related to us by Rufus, who is the ultimate unreliable narrator, and whose befuddlement and occasional flashes of insight are both great sources of amusement.
Even with the kids' antics this is at bottom a calm and subtle book, and there is a lot of craft hidden below the surface. Although the characters can be types and a family camping trip isn't that novel, our author gets everything pitch perfect and draws a lot of observational humor and some slapstick humor out of the various kids' predicaments. And, Rufus is just good, decent, sometimes clueless but always authentic company.
So, a nice choice, it seems to me, for a middle grade reader with a taste for comic narratives related in a chipper but ultimately bemused style. A very solid series. (Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
July 5, 2017
"Petopia is in the business of sensible strangeness."
How could Mom be so clueless? Doesn't she know what a jerk Dmitri is? And how weird Lurena is? And yet she invites both their families to join us on our summer vacation at White Crappie Lake! What could she be thinking? Well, at least "Good ole Murph" will be there. "Everyone likes Murph. I wonder sometimes if that is such a good thing."
But to the lake they all go and Rufus is sure that he's going to have a terrible time. And things don't start off very promising. When Rufus dives into the lake, he lands on Fido and nearly drowns her. Luckily, Pablo is there to tell him how to perform CPR on a guinea (dog) pig. As they strike up a friendship with Pablo, the conversation ends up on Petopia, the disappearing pet shop where they found Fido. Pablo is pretty sure he saw a Petopia on the drive to the lake. Let the hunt begin!
Rufus' sarcastic asides to the reader are very funny and sure to be a hit with students. Students will also relate to the dynamics of this group: the kid who is friends with everyone, the potential best friend usurper and the steadfast best friend. Throw in the idea that maybe it's not so bad being friends with a girl. It's a good mix of interests, as well. And, of course, who doesn't like reading about the exploits of Fido, the Guinea Dog and her daughter, Queen Girlasaurus? Should be a fun addition to the library.
How could Mom be so clueless? Doesn't she know what a jerk Dmitri is? And how weird Lurena is? And yet she invites both their families to join us on our summer vacation at White Crappie Lake! What could she be thinking? Well, at least "Good ole Murph" will be there. "Everyone likes Murph. I wonder sometimes if that is such a good thing."
But to the lake they all go and Rufus is sure that he's going to have a terrible time. And things don't start off very promising. When Rufus dives into the lake, he lands on Fido and nearly drowns her. Luckily, Pablo is there to tell him how to perform CPR on a guinea (dog) pig. As they strike up a friendship with Pablo, the conversation ends up on Petopia, the disappearing pet shop where they found Fido. Pablo is pretty sure he saw a Petopia on the drive to the lake. Let the hunt begin!
Rufus' sarcastic asides to the reader are very funny and sure to be a hit with students. Students will also relate to the dynamics of this group: the kid who is friends with everyone, the potential best friend usurper and the steadfast best friend. Throw in the idea that maybe it's not so bad being friends with a girl. It's a good mix of interests, as well. And, of course, who doesn't like reading about the exploits of Fido, the Guinea Dog and her daughter, Queen Girlasaurus? Should be a fun addition to the library.
September 16, 2014
Rufus is looking forward to the annual camping trip to White Crappie Lake with his family and his best friend Murph's family. Then his mom goes and invites his enemy Dimitri and strange girl Lurena. Dimitri is always trying to steal Murph as his best friend and Lurena is just strange. At the campground they meet Pablo and get to talking about their pets. Rufus has a guinea pig (Fido) who thinks she is a dog and whose daughter thinks she is a squirrel (Lurena got the guinea squirrel). Fido came from a pet store called Petoria which seems to have disappeared until Pablo says he thinks he saw one. So off they go to find Petoria and another guinea pig. Turns out this one is a guinea otter?
Such a strange little book. Even though this is the third in the series I don't think you have to have read the other two to figure it out. I think younger readers will really enjoy this story. It has a lot of humor and fun in it. I liked the mystery of what exactly Petoria is and why the animals there turn out so different. I also like that the answers are not given to us in this book.
Such a strange little book. Even though this is the third in the series I don't think you have to have read the other two to figure it out. I think younger readers will really enjoy this story. It has a lot of humor and fun in it. I liked the mystery of what exactly Petoria is and why the animals there turn out so different. I also like that the answers are not given to us in this book.
July 23, 2014
In this breezy summer story, the 3rd in the Guinea Dog series, Rufus and friends go camping, of course bringing along their guinea pig pets. When they meet a shy new friend Pablo, whose parents converse privately in Spanish, Rufus befriends him and includes him in group activities. This leads to a secret trip to Petopia and the purchase of a new guinea pig by Rufus. He buys it for his best friend Murphy but when Pablo becomes attached, empathetic Rufus is torn. This is an easy to read entertaining story with characters so true to life one can match their universal characteristics to kids from any classroom, especially the expertly depicted entitled, rich bully, Dmitiri. Readers will be hooked by the dilemmas of friendships and the surprising, entertaining talents of the newest magical guinea pig in this series.
February 7, 2015
Rufus plans to go camping with his best friend Murphy, but Rufus' mom invites two other families, Dmitri's and Lurena's. Dmitri, an obnoxious boy from a wealthy family, Lurena, a girl whose main problem seems to be that she's a girl, and new camper Pablo round out the group and provide an excellent mix of personalities from charismatic Murphy to obnoxious Dmitri. All have pets and a fantasy element is added when a Petopia store shows up out of nowhere; a place where when Rufus wanted a dog and his parents said no, a guinea pig that acted like a dog appeared. And the new pet in this title is a guinea otter. The adults as well as the kids are three dimensional and make this series a very enjoyable one.
September 5, 2014
Rufus is the proud owner of a guinea pig, but not your typical guinea pig. In fact, his guinea pig is more of a "guinea dog." When he goes on a family camping trip with several friends (and a non-friend), they make a new acquaintance and search out the elusive pet store where his guinea dog was found. Friendships and secrets are tried on this summer vacation. Short chapters will keep readers turning the pages.
May 6, 2014
I have not read the first two titles in this series yet. There was plenty of reminders about what had happened previously for me to get an understanding of the other stories so it can be a stand alone book.
October 10, 2014
Perfect kids' book! My 8 year old couldn't put it down. It was a lot of fun for us to read.
August 1, 2014
Thank you so much for the copy! I will edit my review once I receive the copy and finish reading it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews