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Capyboppy is a sweet little children's book filled with Peet's whimsical artwork. The book relates the true story of one family's experience with trying to turn a capybara, a giant South American rodent, into a house pet.

This being a book published in the 1960s, it reflects the values of its time. Society was moving toward recognizing wildlife as something other than a roiling mass of expendable beasts--yet it still had a way to go. Thus there were numerous stories about individual animals becoming amusing and doted-upon pets. Nothing is said about the "wild animal dealer" from whom the author's son purchased the single baby Capy, but one gets the sense that story would not make for such an entertaining read. Today, a children's book about capybaras would more likely follow them in their natural habitat.

If you've read any of the other books about wild animals as pets, you probably know where this story is headed. Capy's story ends on an innocuous note that will have young readers grinning, but hopefully they also come away with the message that capybaras don't belong in living rooms.