The Perfect Guest

Author & Illustrator: Paula Metcalf
Walker Books 2017
Free copy of book provided by Walker Books in exchange for an honest review.

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Back of book:
Walter has a guest!
His teeny-weeny squirrel friend, Pansy.
The thing is....Walter is really VERY neat and tidy.
And Pansy is really VERY accident-prone....

Walter the dog is one house proud hound. He loves his polka-dotty table cloth, his pretty garden, and his sparkly new tea-pot. 

When his squirrel friend Pansy phones to say she's coming to visit, Walter is excited, but soon discovers she’s a bit of a liability!

Oops! There goes the much loved tea-pot!

Pansy is a busy little guest: she bakes lemon-cake, but eats most of it herself, tucking into Walter's chocolates as well. She helps with the sewing & accidentally stitches Walter's trouser legs together. While the cake crumbs get vacuumed up, the tableware goes flying. The precious teapot gets a good scrubbing, but ends up in smithereens.  When Pansy offers to dust the ornaments, Walter decides that her energy would be better spent with watering the garden vegetables. What harm could she do out there?

Pansy has kindly made Walter a lovely new pair of trousers, in a perfect pattern that Walter loves.
But hang on! What's this trouser shaped hole in the bedroom curtains?! Oh dear!

Walter has underestimated his little squirrel friend though! Pandemonium follows Pansy wherever she goes & it’s not long before disaster strikes in the garden too.

While Walter is busy polishing & dusting indoors (in his frilly apron), Pansy has a bit of a dilemma outside. If only Walter looked out his window, he’d see the mayhem in the background!

It all ends well though, with one final blunder, bringing a delightful surprise. And so, Walter realizes that despite her clumsiness, his little Pansy is the most perfect guest after all.

A charming story about friendship, we see that Walter & Pansy have two different personalities. Walter likes to be organized, tidy, is a tad prissy and VERY house proud. He's also patient and forgiving. Pansy is enthusiastic, helpful, energetic, and resourceful. She's also a tad greedy and boy is she clumsy! Put these two together and we have a recipe for chaos, with plenty of giggles along the way.

With soft, warm illustrations, there are some quaint little details- like Walter's circular dial telephone, Pansy's sewing thimble/pin cushion and Walter's feather duster. Well, these are things that my little man certainly wouldn't recognize and nice little details to discuss! 

With it's comical characters, charming illustrations, and heart-warming story, 'The Perfect Guest' makes for a pleasant and funny read.