Pig Books

I didn't think my (young) 3-year-old would sit through this book. The text looked long, the art very detailed. But I was WRONG! This has been our nightly story for weeks and I confess: I'm not bored. It's the perfect touch--not very frightening and a reassuring story of self-confidence. Even my 2-year-old pops in for the occasional ghost or pig (no, he's not quite ready for the whole story although Curious George has kept him seated).

Jan Waldron needs to write more! And I'm buying more of David McPhail's books!

This is our family's favorite Halloween book, hands down! The story is great. The rhyme and meter actually work and sound great read aloud, and the pictures are amazing. We got it a few years ago, and my kids, now 6 and 11 BOTH still love it. And for us as parents, this one is one of the rare picture books we never get tired of reading over and over. I'm buying more for friends.

I bought this book for my daughter to celebrate Halloween. It is her favorite holiday so we read this book year round. The story is about a pig named John who is too scared to go trick or treating on Halloween with his friends. John stays back at the house as his friends go on without him. After they leave a real witch comes calling for some treats. When she sees that John only has candy to hand out she decides to teach hime how to make some real Halloween treats. They whip up such heavenly connoctions as pies, tarts, mousse, sundaes, and cookies. All of the witch's monster friends show up for a real Halloween party. Finally the witch tells John that they have to leave while it is still night out. When John's pig friends come back cold and tired they are amazed to find all of the treats that John has prepared. When John goes to bed he realizes he is no longer afraid of Halloween and he dreams of all of the new friends he has made. The illustrations in this book are great and the story is really sweet. My daughter loves this book and I really enjoy reading it to her. This book will really put you into a Halloween mood.

I fell in love with this book from the start. I loved how John Pig portrayed his feelings about Halloween. There was so many adorables pictures that you begin to see new things in the pictures that you didn't see before. The witch is great - My kids loved that idea that she was a fun witch. The food she made sounded heavenly... What a great book for kids.... My children adore this book as do I.

Klassic Koalas: Vegetarian Delights Too Cute to Eat is a visual feast filled with inventive recipes centered around a Koala inspiration. Inventive, adorable, and completely heart warming; the themed recipes have fun projects for the child chef in ones' house as well as the adult who enjoys the fun aspects of food. I enjoyed the book so much that I picked up another one, as well as the aboriginal stories by the same publishing house, and gave them as gifts to my friends' children who are fascinated by Koala's and their world. This book is definitely a keeper.

Delightful, colorful, and tasteful these recipes not only adhere to the vegetarian population but also with children and best of all, those who share the love of Koalas. What a creative way to entertain and impress the guests!

This original collection of imaginative, fanciful and whimsical recipes should be a must for all mothers, teacher and leaders of children's group - especially preschools. Each inventive recipe uses the koala as its theme. Colorful photographs of each completed creation will pique the interest of children, whatever the age. Easy to follow step-by-step instructions will enable even a unskilled cook to prepare delightful edibles for guests, friends and family. These recipes are just too much fun to overlook!

Vegetarian Delights Too Cute to Eat is literally unbearable! Indeed it is hard to resist this superbly illustrated book of recipes. Enjoy cooking while expressing your love for these creatures.

I read this book in a few hours. It moves very quickly, and is very entertaining. I can relate to the types of people around the office that this book discusses. And just like "Kate," in the book, I take comfort in knowing those folks are in my present and future, but there are ways to deal with them.

If you work with people, or you are ever going to, then this book is for you.

Lessons in Pig Farming
By Cathy Sumeracki

Whether you are climbing the corporate ladder or raising pigs, this is a must read. I will have to admit that I'm the one in my company who keeps her head in the pig crate. You and your co-workers will be able to identify with these characters and incidents. The pig snout is my favorite.

Cathy Sumeracki has done an excellent job of defining the corporate world and describing the downsizing, restructuring, and changes that relate to so many of today's companies. A real survival guide.

This book takes a topic (change management) that can sometimes be too abstract for most people to really understand, and uses humor and common sense to explain it in its simplest terms. The author has a casual and engaging writing style and uses her prior work experience to bring the topic to life. It's a great book, and I'd recommend it as a must read for anyone who either has or is currently going through change in their organization.

This book is extremely relevant to all those people out there who keep struggling with who they are and how much more work it causes them. Of particular interest is the chapter "Keep Your Head Out of the Pig Crate". This is so relevant to people that are trying to get started in the job market. You know, the people that will never say no, in hopes of being the spark that makes everything run efficiently. I speak from personal experience. Once when I was incredibly stressed at work, I went to talk it over with my boss. He didn't say much, but just handed me this book and said "read chapter 2." I took the book, and did it that night. The next morning when I came in, I brought the book back to him. All I could say to him in response was "point taken." That was all. What a great way to resolve an issue! I would recommend this book to anyone, in the job market, in college, or any other place where one is forced work by committe or in a team. The points of the stories are easy to glean from the easy to read manner in which they are addressed.

LIFE ON A PIG FARM is an illustrative and informative children's book that is easy to understand and very entertaining. It features a family and daily duties they have to perform in order to get ready for the annual fair. Some highlights of this book are:
1. A step by step look at raising a litter of piglets
2. Chores to be done on the pig farm
3. A section on going to the fair
4. An fun facts section
5. A list of books and websites kids can go to in order to learn more
6. An informative glossary with special "pig terms" that are clearly defined

This book provides youngsters of all ages with a wonderful peak at the many aspects of life on a pig farm. The wonderful pictures are both fun and informative. Be sure to check out other "Life on a Farm" books by Judy Wolfman.

I bought this for my grandchildren and read it for myself! It is well written and tells a story a child can understand. It answers all the questions that young children tend to ask about pigs, living on a farm, etc. Love it and can hardly wait to give it to my grandaughters!

I was born and raised in a rural area but my grandchildren live in a suburban area. I was glad to find a book which gives them such a good explanation of how pigs are raised, and how time-consuming the work is.

This is the first in a wonderful series of books by Judy Wolfman and David Lorenz Winston, giving an educational and entertaining documentation of farm life. Perfect for the elementary school child. The descriptions are accurate, scientific and mature, but in clear language that children can readily understand. The photos tie in perfectly with the text, and together present the full story of the life cycle of the animal, and show the love and care given by the children who live on the farm. My seven year old grandson thoroughly enjoys these books, and has taken them to school to share with his teacher and classmates.

This is an outstanding product. All of the stories on the CD are terrific and it can be enjoyed by all ages.

I absolutely love this CD. My children are 2 and 4 yrs, and they ask for it every day on our commute. The voices of the narrators are absolutely perfect, (there's just something about hearing "John Boy" from the Waltons tell you a story...Richard Thomas is one of the narrators:).
And I would like to find more work from Christine Ebersole, she is so fabulous, especially the last story, 'Lilly's Big Day'. She captures the voice of a sweet, desperate girl longing to be a flower girl so perfectly, I almost got choked up near the end!
My son adores the first story, 'a weekend with Wendall' and he laughs his head off every time he hears the terrible things Wendall does to Sophie.
I would highly reccomend it!
P.S. Because I'd never read the books, I didn't know until I saw the link here that all these characters are mice! It doesn't say in the CD (except for something about a pink nose and fur, but I just thought that was funny)I think it's great that they're easily imagined either way..

My 7-year-old child has been asking to hear this over and over again since she received it as a present 10 days ago. In my opinion, the production could have used a little music here and there, to make it more lively, but my daughter doesn't seem to need anything more than the CD offers. The narrations (which are by different narrators, both male and female) are clear, and nice.

I have to add, that before she got this CD, my daughter had been watching the Scholastic DVD that includes some of the Kevin Henkes' stories featured in this CD... so that probably helped to make it more alive.

I am a Pre-Kindergarten teacher and at nap time we listen to stories that the kids enjoy and "Lilly's Big Day and Other Stories CD" is great the kids ask to listen to it every day. This is a great CD !!!

The book that I read was called The Little Gentleman. The book was about a man called "Mr. Franklin" that has broken his leg and a lady named "Ms. Miller" she took her granddaughter to help her clean the mans house. Then he tells the girl one day that she should go to the meadow to read out loud. After a couple of days a beaver comes and listens to her read. They become friends and he tells her that if any intruder comes to yell a word. After the man has heal his leg he stars to read to himself out loud.

This book rocks!!! I think this is the best book I have read all year. My favorite part was when Moon was chasing Mole. Moon was trying to catch Mole so he could eat him. Then, Bet threw a book at Moon and he ran away like a scaredy cat. That's why I liked this book.

Maura W.

This book rocks! I think it is the best book I have read this year. My favorite part was when Moon was chasing Mole. Moon was trying to catch Mole so he could eat him. Then, Bet threw the book at Moon and he ran away. I think that was funny. So that's why I think this book rocks!

Maura W

The mole I've known the longest is the funky-looking critter who makes a very brief appearance in Shel Silverstein's A GIRAFFE AND A HALF. The mole whose story has meant the most to me is the hopeful and persistent character in David McPhail's MOLE MUSIC. Then there is that most gracious host to tired little bunnies in the Barbara Cooney-illustrated SEVEN LITTLE RABBITS. (The music cassette accompanying that book is forever imprinted on my brain after my having played it as part of several thousand naptimes during my former preschool career.)

There is, in fact, a whole delightful assortment of moles in children's literature. But I'm seeing the mole (Condylura cristata) in a whole new light after being enchanted by the subterranean-dwelling "little gentleman in black velvet" who is at the center of Philippa Pearce's latest book.

"...Mole he is burrowing
his way to the sunlight
He knows there's someone there so strong..."
--Moody Blues, "Watching and Waiting"

Bet lives with her grandparents. Her grandmother tends to Mr. Franklin and to Mr. Franklin's home, and Bet frequently accompanies her grandmother there when not at school. When Mr. Franklin becomes indisposed--having fallen from a ladder and broken his leg--he enlists Bet to sit at the log out on the riverbank by herself and read aloud. Thus the girl comes to meet that most unique mole who is not only well-spoken in the King's English, but is also inadvertently responsible for a pivotal incident in the annals of the British monarchy and, thereby, the subject of a well-known historic toast.

But despite all of that, he is still a most down-to-earth fellow:

"The mole spoke as if indeed in mid-flow of neighborly chat:'...And you probably have little idea of how delicious--how scrumptious--they are when eaten fresh. Of course, I have my worm larder--' He corrected himself. 'Worm larders, well stocked, but the prey pursued, or promptly pounced upon, and eaten fresh--as I've said--Ah! the earthworm, there's nothing like it! You can have your wireworms and your leatherjackets and as many ground beetles as you like to eat--snap! crackle! crunch! You can have them all! Even the toothsome slug has nothing to equal the near liquefaction of worm meat as I pass its length through my fingers sieving out the earth granules from its incessant feeding. Or alternatively tear it to eat it at once in great guzzling, gulping chunks.' "

And as surely as Bet comes to learn the twists and turns that mark the mole's jawdropping personal tale of history, sorcery, and happenstance, readers come to realize that the story of Bet and the mole is an intense tale of friendship and selflessness and choices. And while this is a book that is quite accessible to third and fourth graders, the questions THE LITTLE GENTLEMAN poses, in regard to what one would do for a friend, makes this story also fit in quite nicely alongside any number of YAs that probe similar ground, albeit in a more edgy and mature fashion.

" 'Now,' said Bet with satisfaction, 'we're going to go the whole hog.'
" 'More accurately,' said the mole, 'the whole mole!' "

Philippa Pearce, skillfully digging into British historic trivia, has mined a rich vein with THE LITTLE GENTLEMAN. The book arrived here just in the nick of time--it becomes my read aloud for our family vacation this coming week--and it is sure to be received with similar enthusiasm by all those who somewhere, down deep, are "watching and waiting for a friend to play with."

This is one of my favorite books, children's or otherwise, because of the lovely way it teaches that people can look at the same object or situation and see different things because we are all experiencing life from different perspectives. And the truth is that all of the different things that we see are really there, all of them, even though we may see only one aspect of the whole. The artwork is beautiful and the storytelling soulful. I raised my children on this book, and now that my daughter is seventeen and applying to colleges, I am buying a copy for her to take with her when she moves away from home. This gentle story and the detailed luscious artwork are a treat to be savored and shared across the generations.

The beautiful illustrations help make this book one of my favorite childhood stories. It is a heartwarming story of a little mouse who is an artist. She captures her dearest friends in a painting, in which they all see just themselves. "Little Mouse's Painting is a story that can be enjoyed by everyone.

A lesson in perspective(How things are viewed).
Great illustrations. My 4th grade Art classes loved it.

When searching for just the right gift, I remembered this lovely book. Little Mouse's Painting has everything you may be looking for in a book for young children. Beautiful illustations, sweet as pie story and a lesson to learn for young and old. Little Mouse paints a picture and all her friends see something different in it. It will become a family favorite.

I love the Little Whistle Books but I have always wondered why he is nocturnal. Our guinea pigs are not nocturnal. Anyway, the illustrations are cute and funny and the storyline is interesting.
By Miranda Longhurst, Age 6

Other reviews have said these books are rather treacly in flavor, but not so to children. In its own pleasing simple and kind words, these books tell the story of Little Whistle, a little guinea pig, who is the only live animal in a toy store. But magical things happen at night and the toys come to life and along with Little Whistle they play and listen to their good friend, Soldier's nightly stories.

In this third book, though, Little Whistle has to don his medical gear because Soldier cannot tell the bedtime story as he is ill with a headache.

Little Whistle comes to the rescue! After hopping into a toy train, he finds a toy first-aid kit and helps his friend with bandages and toy medicine. Little Whistle has cured his friend and Soldier is now able to tell his night stories to all the toy--and to Little Whistle.

Wonderful drawings and a wonderful book for children.

Little Whistle is a guinea pig who lives in a toy store. When the toy store closes for the night he is off for adventure. When Little Whistle goes out this night he finds that his friend toy soldier is sick with a really bad headache. He must find a way to make him well again. He goes and finds a first aid kit and makes him well again. Toy Soldier is better in no time and able to read stories to the babies! Little Whistle saved the day!

Little Whistle is a very cute character. There are other books to look for in the series as well: Little Whistle, Little Whistle's Christmas , and Little Whistle's Dinner Party.

I would recommend this story to others. It's full of wonder and imagination. Lots of kids have guinea pigs for pets and enjoy stories about them.

Other reviews have said these books are rather treacly in flavor, but not so to children. In its own pleasing simple and kind words, these books tell the story of Little Whistle, a little guinea pig, who is the only live animal in a toy store. But magical things happen at night and the toys come to life and along with Little Whistle they play and listen to their good friend, Soldier's nightly stories.

In this third book, though, Little Whistle has to don his medical gear because Soldier cannot tell the bedtime story as he is ill with a headache.

Little Whistle comes to the rescue! After hopping into a toy train, he finds a toy first-aid kit and helps his friend with bandages and toy medicine. Little Whistle has cured his friend and Soldier is now able to tell his night stories to all the toys--and to Little Whistle.

Wonderful drawings and a wonderful book for children.

Designing handmade paper by drying multiple layers of boldly colored pulp shaped by hand-cut stencils allows Fleming to create an extravagant feast of appealing fruits and vegetables for one small gray mouse. Contrasting brilliantly colored fruits and vegetables with a black-and-white checked tablecloth, Fleming adds exhilaration to her illustrations. Large, black print (consistently placed on each page) forms short words making this storybook an ideal choice for a pre-reader. A hungry Mouse begins this story by crawling onto the checked tablecloth and jumping excitedly at the food he sees. Fleming allows the viewer to see only the top of one white vegetable. The text on this page reads, "he ate a crisp white--". The viewer is able to guess what Mouse is going to eat by using the two adjectives that Fleming gives and the part of the vegetable made visible on the page. Excited, the viewer turns the page and on the left discovers that the "crisp white" vegetable is an immense turnip. On the right, the text reads, "tasty orange--" and there is a hint of the next vegetable that Mouse sees. A distinct pattern and predictability entices the viewer to turn the page setting an appropriate pace and encouraging the left-to-right flow. Parents will be drawn in by the unique artistic work and appealing choice of food while at the same time, the bold pictures and guessing games will make this book a favorite among listeners and emergent readers.

Books about colors sometimes can be overwhelmingly successful. Not a lot of the time, it's true, but sometimes. Reading the cover flap for "Lunch", the book had this to say (about itself), "this is one book about colors that makes the plain old primaries look positively pale". Hrmph, said I. We shall see. So I flipped through this picture book, preparing to read the same old same old. And the fact of the matter is, the book flap was absolutely right. This book has the two elements absolutely necessary to becoming successful. It's amazing to look at and it's funny as all get out.

A small mouse sniffs curiously out of his hole. His little arms reach yearningly off to the side. The little mouse is very hungry. So he climbs up the nearest black and white checked tablecloth and proceeds to eat every beautifully colored fruit and vegetable he sees. Beginning with a purple turnip, moving onto an orange carrot, yellow corn, etc. As the little mouse eats (and his aplomb and enthusiasm is highly addictive) he covers himself more and more with particles of the foods he's just devoured. By the end of the story the author includes a picture of the now completely multi-colored mouse with helpful notations as to what each item on his person is. On his tail are green peas, for example. Reading the artist's statement, I didn't realize right off the bat that just as the mousey's food items change color, so too does the background of each and every scene. Additionally, the tablecloth itself is a calming black and white, ably setting off the mouse and his gluttonous rampage.

When you first hear how artist Denise Fleming went about creating the pictures for this book your initial reaction is something along the lines of, "Whaaaa?". Why go to all that bother and work? I urge you to purchase a hardcover copy of this book (I can't vouch for the paperback) because the book flap goes into incredible detail describing Fleming's incredible process. Suffice to say, no paint or brushes created a page of art in this book. Instead, each page is a meticulously hand-crafted process that results in handmade paper with these images intact. It blows the mind, it does.

The rare spectacular picture book is interesting to children, interesting to adults, and manages to sneak in some sort of learning. "Lunch", however, doesn't bother with any sneaking. It blatantly teaches children the names of colors (as well as healthy foods!) and everyone ends up winning. This book is simply fabulous. Seriously consider adding it to your collection immediately, if not sooner.

This is one hungry mouse--he eats everything in sight with abandon. By the end of the book, he's covered in all the remnants from what he eaten, leaving a very obvious trail to his home. This is a delightfully fun book to read, but I would recommend it for a 2-4 child; because each page leaves the reader "hanging" on what is the next item the mouse will eat, it is best for a child who can understand more complex concepts.

Again, Fleming has rendered a beautiful, if a bit abstract, visual feast for baby and parent alike. This is a fun book to add to one's library.

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You will never see a cheekier mouse than the little fella starring in "Lunch". That bright pink nose going "SNIFF, SNIFF". Those gorgeous bucked teeth and that great long tail.

The big bold typeface of the words is matched by the bright and cheerful colors in the pictures.

The links between the pages is very cleverly done. You have to guess what is next on the menu. You only get to see part of the fruit or vegetables and a few descriptive adjectives, before you turn the page and get the answer. Then you see our little friend chomping his way through his feast.

He works his way through turnips, carrots, corn, peas, berries, grapes, apples and watermelon. The more he eats the bigger mess he makes. There are spills all over the table cloth and all over himself.

After all that food it's time for a nap. He leaves a technicolor trail of debris on the way back to his hole.

A little while later, that nose emerges from the hole again "SNIFF, SNIFF". It's dinnertime! A funny thing has happened. All the mess is cleaned up and no doubt the table has been restocked with goodies. Kids really love these circular stories.

The funniest part of the book is found on the very back page. Here we get a color-coded picture of our grey, furry friend with arrows identifying all the telltale food remnants that are stuck on him from his nose to his tail.

A fun book for everyone.

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If you're an aviation, history or WWII buff, you'll like this book. The timeline is historically correct and you'll learn about the Russo-Finnish War---a war that you probably never heard of. It was a page turner that I hated to put down.

As a Nevil Shute fan I always wondered what happened to the Viceroy parked in the rear of the Airspeed Ltd. hangar that Shute described in his book Slide Rule. Now I know. Airspeed Ltd., Nevil Norway and the Viceroy are all packed into The Mannerheim Line. If you like Nevil Shute you'll like this book--it's a great read.

The author evidentally thoroughly researched the historical events in this book. It was well written and easy to read. The narration is excellent. The characters are made to seem as real American heroes. It records a part of history that is little-known to the average reader. Those familiar with aircraft would particularly appreciate the book and its terminology. Recommended reading for those who are interested in lesser-known world events.

This is a great period action story. The author certainly knows his way around airplanes and gives the reader lots of unusual detail that will be appreciated by airplane buffs. The chapters on World War II in Finland provide a new picture of a little known campaign. The characters are well drawn. They aren't unrealistic glamor types, but good guys trying to get the job done. Highly recommended.