Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch - Hardcover

Peterson, Mary; Rofe, Jennifer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1570914605 ISBN 13: 9781570914607

Publisher: Charlesbridge, 2010

Synopsis

Piggies plot a peculiar path. Two little piggies run amok on the farm, as they travel from the pumpkin patch, through the garden, into the black bull's pen, and back to mama pig in time for a nap. The piggies' antics introduce young readers to prepositions of direction. Alliteration, assonance, and rhyme in each of the three stanzas make for a great read-aloud.

About this title

About the Author

Mary Peterson has illustrated many books for children, including OCEAN SOUP, WIGGLE AND WAGGLE, NO TIME TO NAP, and CAT ON WHEELS. Mary lives in Los Angeles, California. Jennifer Rofe is a children's book agent living in Los Angeles, California. PIGGIES IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH, co-authored by Mary Peterson, is her picture book debut.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 1–Two adventurous little pigs sneak away from their sleeping mother and go exploring before falling asleep themselves. They cover a lot of territory, going under, over, behind, into, etc. Unfortunately, the text does little except highlight the various prepositions and action words. The narrative is awkward, sometimes rhyming and sometimes not; it does not flow easily or follow a predictable pattern. The illustrations, rendered in pencil and painted in Photoshop and Illustrator, lack dimensionality. Elements appear to float across the pages, untethered by the lack of a consistent physical plane. The perspective distorts the shape of the barn and house, which may be confusing for young children. Well-designed endpapers provide a map of the pigs' route, which would be fun for children to trace. However, it is disappointing for the endpapers to be the best part of a book.Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Two black-and-white piglets have a quick barnyard romp—starting in the pumpkin patch but covering all sorts of terrain—and narrowly escape an angry bull before returning safely to the pumpkins for a snooze. Simple, childlike cartoon illustrations awash in soft yellows, oranges, browns, and greens clearly depict the two as they make their way around the periphery of the farm, interacting with an assortment of animals. The minimal text (about eight words per double-page spread), highlighting the prepositions (under, over, behind, into, etc.), is often playfully placed in the illustration, especially when the excitement picks up. With the crisp, action-filled text, this would be just right for sharing with the youngest of audiences. (The loud “Squeal!!” of the pigs after encountering the bull will certainly grab listeners’ attention.) Pair with other stories set in a barnyard, such as What the Ladybug Heard, by Julia Donaldson (2010), or one of the many tales about pigs out of place, such as No Place for a Pig, by Suzanne Bloom (2003). Preschool-Grade 1. --Randall Enos

Edition details

• Publisher: Charlesbridge
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1570914605
• ISBN 13: 9781570914607
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Peterson Mary
• Number of pages: 28