Common Sense Media Review
By Darienne Stewart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Dark, unsettling story of pet endangered by children.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
The hamster who would soon be known as Sweetie Pie has watched all his friends leave the pet store, but he's resisted. When he's finally taken to a new home, he's pampered at first. But soon his young owner loses interest, and he's passed on to a boy whose dog terrorizes the tiny pet. Before long, Sweetie Pie is handed off to a girl with a nasty expression who sends him on a crazy trip in a hamster ball and then abandons him. After getting assaulted by a mom with a broom, Sweetie Pie becomes a classroom pet, watching the squirrels playing freely outside. A student who's supposed to bring Sweetie Pie home over school break leaves the hamster outside in the snow, and it looks like the end for Sweetie Pie … or maybe a new beginning.
Is It Any Good?
THE MISADVENTURES OF SWEETIE PIE is well-intentioned but misses the mark. Author-illustrator Chris Van Allsburg speaks up on behalf of creatures who can't speak for themselves: The story, he notes, is inspired by two hamsters who "met with unfortunate ends" in his daughters' care. But the book has nothing nice to say about pet owners, or even the idea of keeping an animal as a pet. It's a heavy-handed lesson more likely to distress children than inspire them to be loving, attentive caretakers for animals. The takeaway lesson is that humans are cruel and animals shouldn't be confined and subject to their care.
If you're looking for a book to encourage your children to be conscientious pet owners, Van Allsburg's heavy-handed lesson may go too far. It's heartbreaking but without any heartwarming touches. Young readers will be happy to see Sweetie Pie free in the outdoors, but they're likely to feel sad and guilty after closing this book.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the responsibility of caring for a pet. What does a pet need to be happy and healthy?
Which animals make good pets, and which are better left in the wild?
Consider visiting an animal shelter.
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Adventures , Animals ( Wild Animals )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : HMH Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : November 4, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 32
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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