Mocha's Peruvian Adventure
by Angela M. McGlothlen

OTHER SUBJECT TERMS
Andes Mountains
Cavia tschudii
Cavia porcellus
El Condor Pasa ("If I Could")
Guinea pigs-Andes Region-History
Guinea pigs -Fiction
Guinea pigs -Folklore
Guinea pigs-Juvenile literature
Guinea pigs-Peru
Guinea pigs-Research-Peru
Guinea pigs-Social aspects-Andes Region
Inca trail
Indians of South America-Andes Region
River otters
South American
Traditional healers/healing

Search: All Products Classical Music Books Video DVD Software Keywords:

A guinea pig escapes to Peru and tries to save wild cavies from a horrible fate.

Mocha lives in a small town pet store with lots of other guinea pigs. One night, one of them, named Wise One, shares with her the shocking truth about what's done to guinea pigs in Peru. 

Clueless about all of the danger that lies ahead, Mocha decides to attempt escape from the pet store with Wise One's help. She sets off for Peru with a prideful, street-smart hill myna bird, Reggie, also from the pet store, to try and save the guinea pigs from a terrible fate. They develop a risky plan with the help of Pututo, a wild guinea pig, that involves confronting the evil Andean condor that guards Machu Picchu, an ancient mountain.

This is an adventure unlike what you've experienced before. Join Mocha, Reggie, and Pututo in Mocha's Peruvian Adventure.

Angela M. McGlothlen spent all of her childhood around animals. The family's pets ranged from silkworms to peacocks. She married and adopted Mocha, a guinea pig. Angela wrote this book in memory of her. Mrs. McGlothlen lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with her husband, daughter, and Shetland Sheepdog, Scout.

CHAPTERS:
1 - Animal Talk (read the first chapter)
2 - Escape
3 - Cuzco Bound
4 - A Different Land Indeed
5 - Pututo
6 - The Awful Truth
7 - Buried Treasure
8 - Reunited 

Published by iUniverse
ISBN: 0-595-31880-0 (0595318800)

Some supportive research:

• The Guinea Pig: Healing, Food, and Ritual in the Andes by Edmundo Morales (at Amazon.com)
  • "Cutting the throat is the [slaughtering] method used widely in Bolivia and in parts of Peru, while breaking the neck is used throughout Ecuador and in the department of Cuzco, Peru ... People argue that breaking the neck...gives the meat a better taste."
  • "... rats are not as big as cuys, nor do they have as much meat on them as cuys do."
  • "The folk doctor rubs the patient's body from head to toe with a live cuy (some curanderos prefer black cuys). Then he slits the animal's abdomen, examines the rodents organs and either diagnoses the illness or pronounces the patient's cure."
  • "Peru, the leading country in cuy raising and the center of the Andean culture."
  • "Even farmers in the state of New Jersey who raise cuys to satisfy the pet market in the United States are selling cuys to Andean residents in the New York metropolitan area. In time use of the cuy as a source of high protein will extend beyond the borders of Andean nations and be accepted in other societies. ... The expectation is that the economic advantage of using the cuy as an excellent food source will outweigh a society's sentiment concerning the cuy as a household pet."
• Peru: a Lonely Planet travel survival kit by Rob Rachowiecki (newer edition at Amazon.com)
  • "... sightings of deer, otters, condors and even pumas have been recorded."
• The Guinea Pigs' Daily Digest
• Character names "Pututo" (trumpet) and "Nusta" (princess) from: http://www.qosqo.com/qosqo/vocabula.htm
• "[Cavies] often use burrows made by other species or shelter in rock crevices. They feed at dawn and dusk, largely on grass and leaves." (From Cavy Cousins)
• Childress, William. "The ups and downs of Peru from Inca ruins in the Andes to a wildlife preserve in the rain forest." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1/29/1995 (full article available through Newsbank): 
  • "Time and weather also bring treasures to light. In 1982, rain caused some minor walls of Sacsayhuaman to collapse. Inside were the skeletons of 11 hastily buried Inca nobles. Machu Picchu can only be reached by train..."
• "Vietmeyer (1984) reported that about 70 million guinea pigs are consumed each year in Peru alone." (From The current stage and future prospects of guinea pig production under smallholder conditions in West Africa)
• "In the cathedral of the city of Cusco, the 'navel' of the Inca Empire, hangs a huge painting of the Last Supper. Surrounded by his 12 apostles, Jesus Christ sits at the table with a well roasted guinea pig in front of him which he is sharing with his guests. ... Guinea pigs are linked with cooking, celebration, and myth. One belief is that eating black guinea pigs will make arthritis disappear." (From Fiesta for six: one guinea pig) 
• Andean music page from Boleadora.com includes "El Condor Pasa," arranged by Daniel Alomia Robles in 1913 (listen to a RealAudio file here); also performed by Simon & Garfunkel (see lyrics here).
• "A 17th century native chronicler, Guaman Poma de Ayala, wrote that the Incas sacrificed 1,000 white guinea pigs along with 100 llamas in Cuzco's main plaza each July 'so that neither the sun nor the waters would harm the food and the fields.' " (From Associated Press article)

Mocha's Peruvian Adventure
now available at Amazon.com

See guinea pig bibliography below

Mocha's Peruvian Adventure
now available at
Barmes & Noble

Mocha's Peruvian Adventure
now available at
iUniverse

Mocha's Peruvian Adventure
now available at BooksAMillion

FICTION

• Michael Bond. The complete adventures of Olga da Polga. New York : Delacorte Press, 1983.
• Michael Bond. Olga carries on. New York : Hastings House, 1977. (at Amazon.com)
• Michael Bond. Olga counts her blessings. St. Paul : EMC Corp., 1975, c1977.
• Michael Bond. Olga makes a friend. St. Paul : EMC Corp., c1977.
• Michael Bond. Olga makes a wish. St. Paul : EMC Corp., 1977.
• Michael Bond. Olga makes her mark. St. Paul : EMC Corp., 1977.
• Michael Bond. Olga meets her match. New York : Hastings House, 1975, c1973. (at Amazon.com)
• Michael Bond. Olga takes a bite. St. Paul : EMC Corp., 1977.
• Michael Bond. Olga takes charge. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England : Kestrel Books, 1982. (at Amazon.com)
• Michael Bond. Olga's new home. St. Paul : EMC Corp., c1977.
• Michael Bond. Olga's second house. St. Paul : EMC Corp., c1977. 
• Michael Bond. Olga's special day. St. Paul : EMC Corp., c1977.
• Michael Bond. The tales of Olga da Polga. New York : Macmillan, 1989, c1971. (at Amazon.com)
• Andrea Brooks. The guinea pigs' adventure. Boston : Little, Brown, c1980. (at Amazon.com)
• Janie Bynum. Pig enough. Harcourt, Inc. : San Diego, 2003. (at Amazon.com)
• Patrick Cooper. Never trust a squirrel. New York : Dutton Children's Books, 1999. (at Amazon.com)
• Ursula Dubosarsky. The white guinea-pig. New York : Viking, 1995. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate Duke. Bedtime. New York, N.Y. : Dutton Children's Books, 1999, c1986. 
• Kate Duke. The guinea pig ABC. New York : Dutton, c1983. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate Duke. Guinea pigs far and near. New York : Dutton, c1984. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate Duke. One guinea pig is not enough. New York : Dutton Children's Books, c1998. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate Duke. Twenty is too many. New York : Dutton Children's Books, 2000. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate Duke. What bounces? New York : Dutton Children's Books, 1999. 
• Kate Duke. What would a guinea pig do? New York : Dutton, c1988. (at Amazon.com)
• Heather Eyles. The trouble with Herbert. Greenvale, N.Y. : Mondo, 1996. (at Amazon.com)
• Paul Gallico. The day Jean-Pierre joined the circus. New York, Watts [1969] 
• Linda Garvey. Disney's Doug twelve days of Christmas. New York : Disney Press, c1998. (at Amazon.com)
• Andrew Gutelle. Jim Henson's Muppets in The best gift of all : a book about generosity. Danbury, Conn. : Grolier, c1993. (at Amazon.com)
• Rebecca Hickox. Zorro and Quwi: tales of a trickster guinea pig. New York : Doubleday Book for Young Readers, c1997. (at Amazon.com)
• Johanna Hurwitz. Lexi's tale. New York : SeaStar Books, 2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Johanna Hurwitz. Pee Wee & Plush. New York : SeaStar Books, 2002. (at Amazon.com)
• Johanna Hurwitz. Pee Wee's tale. New York : SeaStar Books, 2000. (at Amazon.com)
• Dick King-Smith. Jenius : the amazing guinea pig. New York : Hyperion Books for Children, c1996. (at Amazon.com)
• Steven Kroll. Patches lost and found. Delray Beach, FL : Winslow Press, 2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Virginia Kroll. Medals for Mahalia. Grand Rapids, Mich. : W.B. Eerdmans, 1998.
• Anne Liersch. Nell & Fluffy. New York : North-South Books, 2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Angela McGlothlen. Mocha's Peruvian adventure. New York : iUniverse, 2004. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy and the firefighters. New York : Scholastic, 1999. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy goes apple picking. New York : Scholastic, 2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy goes to school. New York : Scholastic, c1997. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy goes to Washington. New York : Scholastic, 2002. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy grows a garden. New York : Scholastic, 2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy learns to swim. New York : Scholastic Inc., 2002. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy meets the dinosaurs. New York : Scholastic, c1999. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy meets the groundhog. New York : Scholastic, c2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy meets the Tooth Fairy. New York : Scholastic, 2000. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy plants a jelly bean. New York : Scholastic, c2003. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy saves Christmas. New York : Scholastic Inc., c1998. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy, the secret Santa. New York : Scholastic, 2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy, the snow pig. New York : Scholastic, c2003. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy's 100th day of school. New York : Scholastic, c1999. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy's funny field trip. New York : Scholastic, c2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy's happy Halloween. New York : Scholastic, c1998. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy's lucky day. New York : Scholastic, 2002. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy's school bus adventure. New York : Scholastic, 2000. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy's silly summer. New York : Scholastic, c1998. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy's spring vacation. New York : Scholastic Inc., c1998. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy's Thanksgiving. New York : Scholastic, c1997. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy's trick-or-treat. New York : Scholastic, 2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Kate McMullan. Fluffy's Valentine's Day. New York : Scholastic, c1998. (at Amazon.com)
• Holly Meade. John Willy and Freddy McGee. New York : Marshall Cavendish, 1998. (at Amazon.com)
• Laurie Myers. Guinea pigs don't talk. New York : Clarion Books, c1994. (at Amazon.com)
• Beatrix Potter. The tale of Tuppenny. New York, F. Warne [1973, c1971] 
• Joanne Rocklin. How much is that guinea pig in the window? New York : Scholastic, c1995. (at Amazon.com)
• Gill Rose. William and the guinea pig : a book about responsibility. Minneapolis, Minn. : Picture Window Books, 2004. (at Amazon.com)
• Cynthia Rylant. Little Whistle. San Diego : Harcourt Brace & Co., 2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Cynthia Rylant. Little Whistle's Christmas. San Diego : Harcourt, 2003. (at Amazon.com)
• Cynthia Rylant. Little Whistle's dinner party. San Diego : Harcourt Brace, 2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Cynthia Rylant. Little Whistle's medicine. San Diego : Harcourt Brace, 2002. (at Amazon.com)
• Margaret Shannon. Gullible's troubles. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1998. (at Amazon.com)
• Cornelia Spelman. When I feel good about myself. Morton Grove, Ill. : A. Whitman, c2003. (at Amazon.com)
• Cornelia Spelman. When I feel sad. Morton Grove, Ill. : A. Whitman & Co., c2002. (at Amazon.com)
• Cornelia Spelman. When I miss you. Morton Grove, Ill. : Albert Whitman, 2004. (at Amazon.com)
• Tricia Springstubb. The magic guinea pig. New York : W. Marrow, 1982. (at Amazon.com)
• Carol Watson. Guinea pig. New York : Rooster Books, 1994. (at Amazon.com)
• Rosemary Wells. Felix and the Worrier. Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2003. (at Amazon.com)
• Rosemary Wells. Felix feels better. Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2001. (at Amazon.com)
• Valerie Wilson Wesley. Willimena and Mrs. Sweetly's guinea pig. New York : Jump at the Sun, 2002.
• A.N. Wilson. Hazel the guinea pig. Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 1992. (at Amazon.com)

Back to Top