Mrs. Potter's Pig

Due to a funny mix-up on the farm, Mrs. Potter's baby, Ermajean, suddenly turns into a little, messy pig, causing Mrs. Potter to learn that there are more important things in life than just trying to keep everything spotless and tidy.

PreSchool-Grade 2?Mrs. Potter keeps her home spick-and-span?she even scrubs the garbage. Her daughter, Ermajean, loves to frolic in the dirt. At bathtime, readers learn the exasperated mother's worst fear?that her baby will turn into a pig. Imagine the woman's consternation when, after turning her back to dust the picket fence, she peers into the baby carriage and uncovers a snout! Mother and child are reunited, but not until mom discovers the delight of "squoozing" and "shlooping" through the mud in the pigpen. Not since Barbro Lindgren's The Wild Baby (Greenwillow, 1981) have readers been privy to the family dynamics between such an eventually open-minded (if somewhat anal-retentive) adult and an irrepressible child. The watercolor-and-ink cartoons convey the high energy of the environment, the humor of each event, and the enormous affection between the characters. Try this book on Mother's Day with Barbara Joosse's Mama Do You Love Me? (Chronicle, 1991), Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny (HarperCollins, 1942), or other classics celebrating the joy of unconditional love.?Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Mrs. Potter?a neat freak who "even dusted the chickens until they squawked"?warns her mud-loving daughter, "Ermajean... you're as dirty as a little pig. Someday, if you're not careful, you'll turn into one." That "someday" comes when Ermajean sneaks out of her stroller to play in a pigpen, and a pig, following her trail of crumbs, climbs into her stroller. When the pig (whom Mrs. Potter now believes to be Ermajean) races back to the pen, Mrs. Potter finds the real Ermajean and "squoozes and schloops" her way over to her, learning that mud feels pretty nice. Mrs. Potter and Ermajean live happily and muddily ever after, still keeping a spotless house but romping together regularly in the pigpen. Root's (Aunt Nancy and Old Man Trouble) cheery tale of compromise is further leavened by Ayto's (Lazy Jack) ebullient, wobbly-lined cartoons, which exaggerate characters' expressions so that they match the outre scenarios of the text, giggle for giggle. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Everything in Mrs. Potter's house is cleaned to a fare-thee- well except her messy little baby, Ermajean. Ermajean drools and gurgles and plasters herself with applesauce, and ``any speck of dirt in the yard clung to Ermajean like bees to clover.'' Ermajean is so dirty her mother worries she'll turn into a pig. When she finds a little porker in Ermajean's stroller she thinks the worst has happened, until she discovers Ermajean happily splashing it up in the pigpen, ready to introduce her mother to the joys of mud. Root (see review, above) has written a very funny story of mistaken identity. Readers see Ermajean and the piglet switch places while Mrs. Potter dusts the picket fence. Ayto's loose line and watercolor illustrations are a perfect complement for the rollicking text, imbuing every character with lots of personality. The scenes of Mrs. Potter in the mud are priceless, and the piglet is particularly endearing. (Picture book. 4-7) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 4^-8. Babies and mess go hand in hand, and for Mrs. Potter, a spotless housekeeper who mops, polishes, and tidies everything in her path (she even dusts the chickens), that's hard to take. Baby Ermajean Potter is a drooling dirt magnet who so glories in mess that her mother warns her, "You're as dirty as a little pig. Someday, if you're not careful, you'll turn into one." One day, while Mother is busy dusting the fence, Ermajean climbs out of the baby carriage and into the pigpen. The trail of crumbs she leaves behind is just the incentive needed for a baby pig to crawl into the carriage. Mrs. Potter's reaction to the switch will delight children, who love seeing adults both affectionate and silly, and the conclusion--Mrs. Potter discovers the joys of mud for herself--is wonderfully satisfying. There's plenty of ingenious interplay between the text and pictures, with the illustrations perfectly conveying the tone of the story and giving Mrs. Potter just the right comical air. Ayto is a master of framing and white space, enclosing his pictures in squiggly outlines that burst to let strategic elements pop out, and he carefully varies the illustrations: a series of tidy frames show Mrs. Potter blithely strolling with the pig in her carriage, but the climactic moment of discovery is captured in a painting that completely covers a double-page spread. Whether budding Mrs. Potters or confirmed little "pigs," youngsters will have a grand time with this book. Susan Dove Lempke