HECTOR AND PRUDENCE - Hardcover

Koscielniak, Bruce

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039494514X ISBN 13: 9780394945149

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1990

Synopsis

Hector and Prudence, a pig couple, settle into a life of domestic bliss--and a bundle of surprises--when they find a house and start a family

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Realizing she is about to bear a litter, Prudence convinces her husband Hector that it is time to move from a muddy field into a home of their own. Shortly after setting up housekeeping in an abandoned house, Prudence astonishes Hector with a family of six piglets. Leisurely romantic picnics give way to various new parental responsibilities: supervising the children in the bathtub, reading them stories, and getting them to bed. One night, the piglets' parents find a few quiet minutes alone to reflect on their hectic, exhausting lives. At that very moment, the piglets are escaping from their second-story bedroom by climbing down a sheet. While parents may feel a twinge of recognition at Hector and Prudence's conflicting feelings of joy and fatigue, children will have little patience for this light story. A curious flatness and lack of tension in the plot and a tiresome acceptance of the less-than-pleasureable aspects of parenting are not relieved by the humorous, appealing watercolor illustrations. Engaging pig stories abound; although none have the same theme, Rayner's Mr. & Mrs. Pig's Evening Out (Macmillan, 1976), Steig's Amazing Bone (Farrar, 1976), and Van Leeuwen's "Amanda and Oliver Pig" series (Dial) are stories that merit repeated readings. --Ellen Fader, Westport Public Library, CT
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

When a pig named Prudence puts on weight and lobbies to swap her muddy field for a roof over her head, her puzzled mate soon discovers the reason: the arrival of six sprightly pink piglets. The challenges of porcine parenthood generally are faced with equanimity, but by the time their offspring are tucked into bed at night, Hector and Prudence are exhausted. In a final scene that takes a sly poke at the mixed perils and joys of family life, readers see the pooped-out porkers relaxing on lawn chairs under the stars, while in the background their tireless brood clambers down a ladder (made of sheets tied together) to freedom. Koscielniak's rambunctious, jolly illustrations depict a pair of truly contemporary pigs; children and parents alike will find his understated wit hard to resist. Ages 3 - 7.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 039494514X
• ISBN 13: 9780394945149
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 36