And Then There Were Gnomes (Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye Series #2)

by Colleen Venable, Stephanie Yue

Overview

Sasspants, PI(G), the world's fluffiest detective, is back on the case?or she will be, if her sidekick Hamisher can convince her there's really a mystery afoot. Hamisher has made up so many stories, Sasspants doesn't believe him. But one by one the mice in Mr. Venezi's pet shop are going missing, and all the spooky clues point to...a ghost! Once our shaggy Sherlocks start digging for answers, they will stop at nothing to ferret out the truth!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467728737
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/01/2013
Series:	Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye Series , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 11 Years

About the Author

Colleen AF Venable grew up in the trees of Walden, New York….well, not very high up the trees, since she always got scared, but she did carve her name in a lot of low hanging boughs. Colleen had an older sister, a dog, a cat, a million fish, and an imaginary pet hamster named, yup you guessed it, Hamisher. Why have an imaginary friend when you can have an imaginary friend that can fit in your pocket! Colleen went to Wagner College and double majored in English and Studio Art, winning the award of "biggest dork" (aka first in her class) and writing plays which went on to be produced Off-Off-Broadway. Her whole life she always loved reading comics—Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, and she wore out her copy of the Muppets: Short, Green and Handsome—but it wasn't until she started to get into webcomics that she also fell in love with the idea of writing comics. Now Colleen lives in New York City and her day job is designing graphic novels for First Second Books while her night job is writing graphic novels about a not-so-imaginary-anymore hyperactive hamster named Hamisher. She thinks the world is a very lovely place.

Stephanie Yue grew up in the United States, China, and Hong Kong, and went to New York to study illustration. Currently, she lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and spends her days drawing, practicing kung fu, and making stuff.

Editorial Reviews

"The denizens of Mr Venezi's Pets & Stuff return for another hilarious mystery. Sasspants the guinea pig solved the mystery of the missing sandwiches in Hamster and Cheese (2010); now she’s doomed to be thought a detective even though she has replaced the final 'G' on her cage label. Hamisher the koala (actually hamster; Mr. Venezi is nearsighted and clueless, though not neglectful) loves being a sidekick, and he comes up with so many fake mysteries that Sasspants doesn't believe him when he has a real one. The mice are going missing one by one, and everyone's sure it's a ghost. Sasspants takes the case to get Hamisher off her back so she can get back to reading her much-loved books. Venable's second adventure does not disappoint. The celebutante chinchillas—er, camels—(one of whom has a pet mouse, 'Mr. Sparkles,' à la Paris Hilton's chihuahua) and the bubble-headed goldfish will inspire giggles. The deadpan expressions of Yue's pudgy animals colored by Hi Fi Design supply many of the laughs. A gem—please, tell us we'll be seeing more of Sasspants!" --Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

I don't know which I enjoyed more here, the story or the illustrations. What a fun book! The setting is a pet store. At first, Sasspants is taking a snooze in her cage. Hamisher is frantically trying to wake her up to tell her that all of the other hamsters are missing. Sasspants doesn't believe him because she has heard this all from him before. Of course, this time is no different; Hamisher is just fooling around. Then, a real mystery needs to be solved. Sasspants says she will solve it, if only to prove there is no mystery. In this case, she needs to find the missing mice. Before starting, Sasspants asks Hamister one last time if he is telling the truth. He responds with, "I am! Cross my heart and eyes and legs and arms!" Who wouldn't believe this cute hamster? The characters are wonderful, the illustrations are terrific, and the story is well-suited to the graphic novel format. Both reluctant and avid readers will enjoy this book. The end of the book several pages describe how the mice got through the wall, as well as other interesting facts, such as boy mice are called bucks and baby mice are called kittens. I highly recommend this book. It will become a favorite of anyone who reads it. Book two of the "Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye" series. Reviewer: Kathie M. Josephs

Children's Literature - Kathie M. Josephs

The denizens of Mr Venezi's Pets & Stuff return for another hilarious mystery. Sasspants the guinea pig solved the mystery of the missing sandwiches in Hamster and Cheese (2010); now she's doomed to be thought a detective even though she has replaced the final "G" on her cage label. Hamisher the koala (actually hamster; Mr. Venezi is nearsighted and clueless, though not neglectful) loves being a sidekick, and he comes up with so many fake mysteries that Sasspants doesn't believe him when he has a real one. The mice are going missing one by one, and everyone's sure it's a ghost. Sasspants takes the case to get Hamisher off her back so she can get back to reading her much-loved books. Venable's second adventure does not disappoint. The celebutante chinchillas—er, camels—(one of whom has a pet mouse, "Mr. Sparkles," à la Paris Hilton's chihuahua) and the bubble-headed goldfish will inspire giggles. The deadpan expressions of Yue's pudgy animals colored by Hi Fi Design supply many of the laughs. A gem—please, tell us we'll be seeing more of Sasspants! (Graphic fiction. 6-11)

Kirkus Reviews