{"product_id":"gasp-of-the-ghoulish-guinea-pig-7-isbn-9780448490038","title":"Gasp of the Ghoulish Guinea Pig #7","description":"Joe's latest visitor needs help fast—to save his litter mates from the ghoulish grave! Flash, a guinea pig, needs Joe to guard his family from an escaped snake! Will the Protector of Undead Pets prevail, or will Flash have company for his final crossing?Sam Hay grew up in Scotland. A former journalist, she has written several children's books. She lives with her husband, two children and several pets in a small house with a big garden.\u003cb\u003eChapter One\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Here they come!” called Joe.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Toby, his little brother, gave a squeal of delight as a streak of brown-and-white fur shot out of a bendy green tube, closely followed by two more.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Go, guinea pigs!” shouted Erin, a curly-haired girl the same age as Joe. She was sitting at the other end of the hall waving a bunch of parsley, while three guinea pigs raced through the obstacle course toward her, squeaking as they went.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e It was Sunday afternoon, the start of winter break, and Joe and Toby and their parents were visiting the Crawfords. While the grown-ups chatted in the living room, the children were playing with the family’s three guinea pigs—Lightning, Flash, and Bolt. The obstacle course they’d built ran down the length of the Crawfords’ hallway.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Oops!” George, Erin’s little brother, giggled as the guinea pigs decided not to jump over the small fence the kids had made and went around the side instead.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “They’re heading for the seesaw!” shrieked Toby.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Come on!” called Erin, waving the parsley up and down. “Come and get the goodies!”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Flash—the biggest guinea pig—sniffed the air and let out a squeak, then shot through the cardboard archway and over the finish line, closely followed by Bolt and Lightning.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Why does Flash always win?” groaned George.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Because he’s awesome!” Erin gently scooped up Flash and rewarded him with a sprig of parsley. “That’s why I chose him.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Lightning and Bolt are cool, too,” said George, giving the other two their share of the parsley.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Joe crouched down next to Erin and stroked Flash’s small brown-and-white head. “When did you get them?”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “About four months ago. They’re still pretty young . . .”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “And very excitable!” added Erin’s mom, who had appeared in the hall carrying a tray of empty mugs. “All that squeaking!”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Squeak! Squeak!” mimicked George in a funny guinea-pig voice.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Toby laughed and joined in. “Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The guinea pigs stopped chewing their parsley and looked at the boys as though they were upset.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “I wish I had a guinea pig.” Toby sighed. “They’re so cool.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Want to hold Flash?” Erin nodded to the spot next to her. “Sit there and I’ll put him on your lap. Watch out—he’s a bit of a pooper!”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Toby and George giggled.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Can I hold one, too?” Joe asked.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e George put Bolt on Joe’s knee. The guinea pig began snuffling around the boy’s pockets looking for treats. Joe stroked his head and the guinea pig gave a small squeak.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “He likes you,” said Erin.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e But just then Bolt wriggled off Joe’s lap and scuttled back to Lightning.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “They’re best friends,” George explained. “They like to stick together.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “What about Flash?” asked Joe. The biggest guinea pig was still sitting happily on Toby’s knee.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “He’s a bit braver,” said Erin. “The other two follow him around. It’s a bit like me and George.” She giggled. “I’m Flash, and George is Bolt!”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Joe, Toby—five minutes!” Mom called from the living room.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Toby groaned. “I don’t want to go home!”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Quick,” Erin said. “Let’s do the course again!” She picked up Flash and Lightning, while George took Bolt. They carried them back to the beginning of the obstacle course.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e As soon as Erin let Flash go, he took off through the first tunnel, squeaking excitedly.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Hey!” said Erin, as Lightning wriggled in her arms. She put him down, and he chased after Flash. Bolt caught up, following the others.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e George and Toby began squeaking again, copying the guinea pigs.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “We’ve got two new pets!” said Mrs. Crawford as the grown-ups appeared in the hall.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Joe’s dad grinned. “Should I put them in the hutch for you?”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Toby and George made silly guinea-pig faces and squeaked even louder.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Come on, boys! Time to go,” said Mom, holding out Toby’s fleece.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Toby’s face fell. “But I want to stay.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “You can come back another time,” said Mrs. Crawford. “What about Tuesday? It’s George’s birthday, and he’s having a monster party. He’d love if Joe and Toby could come.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Yes, please!” said Toby excitedly.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Cool!” George added.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Joe was less excited. The idea of a five-year-old’s birthday party wasn’t so appealing to him.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Well . . . ,” he began.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Mrs. Crawford smiled. “Maybe you’ve already got plans, Joe. But it would be nice if Toby could come.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Are you sure you don’t mind?” Mom asked Mrs. Crawford.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Of course not! We’ve already got a houseful of kids coming—another one won’t matter.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Awesome!” said Toby and George. And they started squeaking again.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e ************\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Five more minutes, Joe, and then knock it off!” called Dad, poking his head through the living-room door.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e It was a few hours later, and Joe was playing a racing video game.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Did you hear me?” Joe’s dad asked.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Joe made a face. “Yeah, all right, Dad.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJust one more lap,\u003c\/i\u003e he thought as he steered his car through the flags.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eSqueak! Squeak! Squeak!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Get lost, Toby!” Joe grumbled, not bothering to turn around. “Dad says I’ve still got five minutes!”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eSqueak! Squeak! Squeak!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Go away!”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eSqueak! Squeak! Squeak!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Why were little brothers so annoying! Joe grabbed a cushion, spun around, and lobbed it at Toby—but he wasn’t there.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eSqueak! Squeak! Squeak!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Joe frowned. “Toby? Where are you?”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Under here, Joe!” came a squeaky voice.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Joe looked under the coffee table and gasped. It was Flash!","brand":"Grosset \u0026 Dunlap","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301693018341,"sku":"NP9780448490038","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780448490038.jpg?v=1742924847","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/gasp-of-the-ghoulish-guinea-pig-7-isbn-9780448490038","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}