Animal-themed storytimes are always a hit, especially if it is a pet animal that can be brought in for the children to see. This would include guinea pigs! A special thanks to Shannon Kruer, Oldham County Public Library, KY, for some of these ideas.
For a craft project, you can have a handout with a picture of a guinea pig, and have the children glue cotton balls on the picture to represent fur. Or, make a guinea pig sock puppet as shown here.
Books:
Bynum, Janie. PIG ENOUGH. Guinea pig Willy wants to join the Pig Scouts (which is for regular pigs), and he proves he is up to the challenge.
Child, Lauren. I COMPLETELY KNOW ABOUT GUINEA PIGS. Bert the guinea pig goes to Lola’s house for summer vacation where something surprising happens.
Cuyler, Margery. GUINEA PIGS ADD UP. Mr. Gilbert buys another classroom guinea pig because the first one looked lonely, and soon there are many more guinea pigs!
Duke, Kate. ONE GUINEA PIG IS NOT ENOUGH. Counting and basic addition are part of this enjoyable book, first in a series.
Katz, Susan. OH THEODORE! GUINEA PIG POEMS. A series of poems tell the tale of a new pet guinea pig.
Knutson, Barbara. LOVE AND ROAST CHICKEN: A TRICKSTER TALE FROM THE ANDES MOUNTAINS. A clever guinea pig outwits a fox. Also available in Spanish.
McGinty, Alice B. ELIZABETH’S KINDERGARTEN PET. At first, Elizabeth is afraid of the class guinea pig. But when it gets lost, Elizabeth helps find it.
Meade, Holly. JOHN WILLY AND FREDDY MCGEE. After escaping from their cage, two guinea pigs have an adventure through the tunnels of the family’s pool table.
Ohi, Ruth. A TRIP WITH GRANDMA. Clara and Sprout go on vacation with grandma in this brightly illustrated tale for toddlers.
Roth, Susan L. GREAT BIG GUINEA PIGS. Torn paper collages illustrate this tale of a mother guinea pig telling her son a bedtime story. She describes how guinea pigs were giants 1,500 years ago.
Rylant, Cynthia. LITTLE WHISTLE. In this first book in a series, a small guinea pig Little Whistle talks to the toys late at night.
Shannon, Margaret. GULLIBLE’S TROUBLES. When teased at his relative’s house, Gullible discovers something in the basement that helps him get even!
Songs and Fingerplays:
The Guinea Pig (Tune: Wheels on the Bus) The guinea pig eats his food (tap fingers and thumb in eating motion) With a munch, munch, munch; Munch, munch, munch. Munch, munch, munch. The guinea pig eats his food With a munch, munch, munch, In his little cage. The guinea pig likes to run (fingers running) Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. The guinea pig likes to run back and forth, In his little cage. The guinea pig wiggles his nose just like that (tap nose and wiggle it with your finger) Just like that, just like that. The guinea pig wiggles his nose just like that. In his little cage. The guinea pig likes to sleep all day long. (head on hands) All day long, all day long. The guinea pig likes to sleep all day long. In his little cage.
Five Little Guinea Pigs Five little guinea pigs ran across the floor, I scooped one up, and now there are four. Four little guinea pigs trying hard to flee, I scooped one up, and now there are three. Three little guinea pigs, one climbed into a shoe, I scooped one up, and now there are two. Two little guinea pigs, just trying to have some fun, I scooped one up, and now there is just one. One little guinea pig, see how fast he tried to run. I scooped him up, now there are none. No more little guinea pigs, trying to get away, I scooped them all up, now they’re safe inside their cage.