Not realizing that the Wedgie and Gizmo series by Suzanne Selfors was not a stand-alone book, I picked up the second one. However, while you should read the first title first, there is enough background to help fill in some blanks. The story about the family and friendship runs side-by-side with the story of Wedgie and Gizmo as it is told from the point of view of the animal telling the chapter, but also the narrator gives information that neither pet could understand.
Wedgie is a corgi dog that is not always the most well behaved. Oh, he means well but well…he is a dog with doggie ideas. Gizmo is a guinea pig…. excuse me a cavy (pigs are dirty creatures). This little cavy is not your typical cavy though. He wants to take over the world (Narf!) Yes, tones of Pinky and the Brain do come in, only our villain does not have a side-kick. He will get a minion army of cavies soon…. right after his pre-lunch nap. Unless the post-lunch nap gets in the way. Or his arch-nemesis, Thorgi (aka: Wedgie), even if Wedgie does not realize the fuzzy potato is up to no good.
The parts that are amusing to this reader were the fact that Wedgie is less than the noble “Man’s best friend” and that Gizmo is your stereotypical funny, villain. The parts not so amusing are the facts that the grandmother is in tune with Gizmo’s schemes, but no one believes her and the fact that Wedgie never really seems to learn anything. He just keeps being a dog. If you are going to make the animals have thoughts and human characteristics, please make them have a little understanding of what went wrong. Also, the fact that sometimes Gizmo can pull off some of his schemes (even though he does not win as things never go as planned) is not amusing. (Spoiler) He is able to obtain a drone by stealing the grandmothers credit card and buying one on line. It would have been more satisfying for him to have made one with found items.
Now about the part of about The Toof. She is the new neighbors pet pig. The youngest human nicknames her Toof as she has a large tooth sticking out. Gizmo is convinced that Wedgie has his own sidekick now and the two of them are there to double their changes of stopping him. (Spoiler) The two just want to dig in the dirt.
Overall, I was pleasantly entertained by this book. I knew there would be humor that was not my cup of tea, but figured it would not be unbearable. It is a quick read for the adult and should take a child a few days if they carefully read. The illustrations are scattered through the novel and capture what is needed.