Genre
Animal books
Poetry
Subject
Guinea-pigs
Guinea-pigs as pets
Pets

This book is a collection of poems that tell a story. A young boy wants to get a pet, and his mom will only let him get a guinea pig. The friendship gets off to a rough start as Theodore is easily scared. However, eventually he warms up to his new home. When Theodore gets lost, the boy is very worried until he shows up in a pot.

This book would help introduce poetry to young readers. It presents a variety of different forms of poetry, rhyme, and rhythm for students to engage with. Students can practice inferring feelings based of the text and illustrations. They might ask questions such as "I wonder if the boy really wants a guinea pig as a pet" or "I wonder if Theodore will stop being scared."

Oh, Theodore is a charming look at the friendship between a little boy and his guinea pig who turns out to be the perfect pet for him. They start out slowly, getting used to each other and begin to notice the special things about each other. The poems are simple and even include what Theodore "says". The boy ascribes feelings he imagines Theodore has to him and treats him like a real friend. Descriptive words cause meaning to be understood with few words used. The plump, fuzzy, brown teddy bear of a guinea pig becomes real to the reader.

It would be great to find a real guinea pig that could make a visit to class and let the students see what they are really like.

This would be a good time for students to share what kind of pet each one has or would like to have. ( )

this is about a child learning responsibility through his pet

My brother had a guinea pig named Jessica when we were kids and Theodore and this story reminds me of them. Through a series of poems and pictures, readers learn how it feels to be a guinea pig in a new home. At first Theodore is scared of the large human, but over time, they become fast friends. One day, Theodore escapes. Will the boy find him before it's too late? ( )