Hooray for Hollywood! Charlie Hits It Big by Deborah Blumenthal

OFF TO THE COAST FOR ADVENTURE.

LATER,
CHARLIE

When Sophie wakes up and finds a farewell note from her guinea pig Charlie, she can't believe what she reads. Would Charlie leave his cozy cage and favorite snack, Fruity-Nut Buffet, for a glitzy life in the film capital?

Apparently, yes. As she searches his cage for clues, Sophie finds some slightly chewed evidence--a newspaper clipping with the headline PIGGING OUT! PIGS BIG IN HOLLYWOOD. Yep, it looks like Charlie has made his getaway for the glitzy life of the left coast!

Meanwhile, Charlie jets to tinsel town, where he mingles with the fans on a movie studio tour until he spots what he's looking for--a door labelled CASTING! Talking his way into a audition, Charlie plays the role of a broken-hearted lover and delivers his line with guinea pig gusto:

"FIND ROOM IN YOUR HEART TO LOVE A BEAST LIKE ME AND I'LL MAKE YOU THE HAPPIEST WOMAN ALIVE!"

"CUT!" cries the man wearing a beret. "Come back tomorrow, but lose the tan fur. We're looking for dark and handsome!"

Charlie gets a brunette makeover and lands the part. "You're going to be BIG!" says the director. On the way to his hotel Charlie drops Sophie a postcard: "To Sophie, At home. Look for me on the BIG screen! What a life!"

A run to Rodeo Drive outfits Charlie in a swashbuckling purple cape with a red lining, and he's off to his first big Hollywood bash. Although he finds nothing to eat on the mile-long buffet but salad, everyone calls him "Darling" and "Mon Amour," and photographers and press agents surround him, even stepping on his tail in the frenzy to shake his paw and take advantage of the photo op.

Suddenly Charlie feels overwhelmed. Scared and lonely in the gushy, air-kissing crowd, he thinks of Sophie and her plentiful supply of baby carrots back home. A memory of Pet Food Emporium's Buy-One-Get-One-Free sales floods his senses and almost brings tears to his eyes. Charlie slips away and, loading up on the hotel's almond soap, coconut shampoo, and shoeshine cloths, he packs up and books a flight for home.

When Charlie finally arrives and looks into Sophie's loving blue eyes, he only has one thing to say:

"FIND ROOM IN YOUR HEART TO LOVE A BEAST LIKE ME AND I'LL MAKE YOU THE HAPPIEST WOMAN ALIVE"

"What?" says Sophie.

"That's Hollywood talk," Charlie says. "Forget about it."

Denise Brunkus' illustrations for Charlie Hits It Big match Blumenthal's over-the-top text in a giggle-producing new picture book whose gentle satire on the celebrity life will appeal to guinea pig lovers and future starlets alike.