Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud

A feisty grandmother and her family struggle to get an assortment of farm animals out of the road so the family can pass in their Model T Ford.

PreSchool-Grade 2. When a family's Model T Ford is blocked by critters wallowing in the rain-soaked road, only Grandma can clear the way. A tongue-twisting text and scenes filled with gooey mud make for laugh-out-loud reading.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

First-time author Plourde commands attention with this winsomely silly, trippingly rhymed tale. When some indolent pigs block the road (or "rud," as pronounced in Plourde's native Maine), they halt the progress of a family's Model T. In an initial attempt to clear the road hogs, Brother "shooed./ And he squealed./ And he rutted./ And he reeled./ But the pigs didn't budge./ Not a tiny little smudge." Hens, sheep and bulls join the fracas, with each family member failing to shoo the animals. Finally, Grandma realizes, "OOOOO-EEE! Up to me," and, "with her hands on her hips,/ and a snarl on her lips/ ... yelled 'Time for Sup!' " and the animals scatter. While Plourde laces her clever rhymes with funny, nonsensical words (such as "shmuffle" and "smarge"), Caldecott Medalist Schoenherr (Owl Moon) departs a bit from the resoundingly naturalistic style of his previous work to offer up deadpan watercolors of hapless humans and luxuriating animals. An attractive design silhouettes these figures against plenty of clean white space, in the process creating a visual syncopation between the art and the text. Punchy and full of verve, this is one story kids will want to hear many times over. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The road is blocked by big pink pigs, and there's nothing to do but get out of the car and try to get them to move. But instead of budging, the pigs are joined by chickens, then sheep, then bulls, all equally reluctant to move from the car's path. The whole family gives up in exasperation; Grandma comes up with the perfect words to make everyone hop to: ``TIME FOR SUP!!'' The family piles back into the car, suppressing giggles at Grandma, whose stern facade is now covered in mud. The story is fun, but the language and rhymes make it rollick and roll, to the same rhythm the family car might make, heading down washboard road: ``And he shooed. And he squealed. And he rutted. And he reeled. But the pigs didn't budge. Not a tiny little smudge''--words that precisely convey the conniptions of the brother attempting to rouse the swine. A wonderful frolic in mud and verse, and Plourde's debut. (Junior Library Guild Selection) (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.