Lady Muck - Hardcover

Mayne, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395752817 ISBN 13: 9780395752814

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1997

Synopsis

After finding a cache of truffles, Boark the pig and his wife, Sowk, set off to town to buy a grand coach, but, along the way, the temptation becomes too great to resist, and Sowk begins to eat the mouthwatering truffles.

About this title

About the Author:

William Mayne has now published almost one hundred books for children including the Carnegie Medal winning book A Grass Rope (1957).

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2. Mayne is at his fanciful best in telling this story of two very droll pigs, with very human aspirations. Boark and his loving wife, Sowk, feel they were born to have a better life than can be found in the muddy wood. When Boark sniffs out a nest of heavenly smelling, juicy truffles, Sowk wants to sell them and buy a coach in which they can "ride about the country, grand as duchy and duchessy." Boark proves to be of stronger character than his wife, who eats all but one of the truffles on the way to the market. He takes the small coin he gets for the last one and buys a wheelbarrow for his wife to ride in. Sowk still feels their status has been elevated because now the neighbors call her Lady Muck. Mayne uses alliteration, coy diminutives, and pleasing rhythmic couplets of invented words to create a language of his own, though there are echoes of Carroll and Lear. The whimsical humor and the rich new sounds make it immediately appealing to those who love to play with invented words and odd endings?such as "his jaws to bite, chew and chewy, and throat to swallow-swallowy!" With a little practice, the story reads beautifully. However, it might be easier for children to appreciate the unusual language if they first encounter it in small-group settings, or as a lap book. The large, colored woodcuts make Boark and his Lady Muck come to life in all their porky beauty?drools, rolls of fat, and all. The woodcuts and the soft watercolor illustrations also draw readers into the picturesque English countryside. A book to return to again and again.?Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, VT
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0395752817
• ISBN 13: 9780395752814
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Heale Jonathan