Pigs Books

How Marcello, an imaginative young mouse overcomes obstacles and outwits the scary cat Ravioli to achieve his dream of movie-making was great fun reading. The writing is lively and the illustrations beautiful. Terrific to share with the kids.

Marcello The Movie Mouse is a colorful picturebook about a young mouse who lives in the Grand Palazzo Theatre. Little Marcello dreams of making his own films someday; but he has no camera and no crew, just endless factory work, and to make things worse the dreadful theatre cat Ravioli is always on the prowl! But Marcello just won't give up, and devotes his all to pursuing his dream - a dream that just might have room for Ravioli as well! A glossary of movie terms and inspirational quotes from great moviemakers round out this delightful storybook for budding film buffs.

Though this story was first published almost forty years ago, it still remains charming. The book tells the story about a little mouse named Martha. Martha is hungry, cold, and starving on the street. Then one day she sees a movie theatre and sneeks inside. Dan, the man who runs the theatre, is glad to see Martha and the two quickly become friends. Martha soon falls in love with movies. She finds herself getting caught up in the action, imagining new places in her mind, and sometimes even acting out what she sees on screen. However, not everyone appreciates a talking, singing, dancing mouse as much as Dan and soon there is trouble.

The story is written in rhyming couplets and the illustrations that accompany the text are a joy to look at. As a huge fan of movies, I'll read just about anything having to do with film or cinema and I have a great appreciation for children's literature, so I thoroughly enjoyed this quaint little story. This would be a good book to read to children from preschool through about the second grade. It also makes a nice gift for anyone who appreciates older children's literature or anyone who is a fan of Arnold Lobel.

This is a very sweet book by one of the greatest children's authors and illustrators of all times. "Martha" tells the story of a lonely mouse who befriends a lonely man who works in a movie house. Martha becomes enchanted with the movies, until some movie-goers discover her and scare her off. She eventually makes her way back to the movie house to save the day with her brilliant stage performance. I read it aloud each year to my second grade classes, and the kids applaud every time. If you can find a copy, I highly recommend it.

This is another great adaptation of a classic story. Mary has a ham instead of a lamb. This ham is destined for showbiz, maybe in "Cinderswine". It has puns and jokes that will keep adults chuckling, but kids will like it, too.

Reading Level: Ages 4-8

Mary's little porker was a real ham - an actor that is - and you can't keep someone with that much talent down on the farm.

I took a stack of picture books to a restaraunt one noon so I could catch up with my review back log. At one point, the manager walked over and asked what was so funny for I was laughing out loud at this Mickey Rooneyesque from-the-farm-to-fame-on-broadway opus. However, I wonder if most kids will really appreciate how funny this book actualy is. Even the wonderful illustrations are dripping with theatrical humor - particularly the page of posters for such smash hits as The Pork Loin King, and Hamadeus. Heck, forget about the kids, get this book for yourself.

- KB Shaw, Publisher
SPECTRUM Children's Book Club
www.incwell.com

This is a really fun story about a family of adventrous. Kids will really enjoy them and grown-ups will have fun reading them too.

Based on my memory of thisbook from 30(?) years ago, it concerns a pig family, the Mellops, who embark on an adventure into a cave. They face not only subterranean wonders, but also a band of robbers hiding their loot. I won't give away the ending because I don't remember it.

Hurray for the Mellops reprints! (Normally, I don't care for exclamation points, but it seemed suitable here.

I took a flyer on this book after seeing the author's more recent book about Ann Coulter (worth your consideration also).

"Pigs" is funny, to the point and right on target. The style is somewhere in the category of a Mike Royko, Dave Barry or Joel Stein.

Enjoy.

Men Are Pigs is a no-holds-barred look at what makes being a man such a moveable feast. One of the funniest books about men that I've ever read. The author has managed to capture the true spirit of the male paradigm. No stone has been left unturned, no dimly light alley unexplored, no social taboo unchallenged. A copy of Men Are Pigs belongs in every man's bathroom reading library and on every woman's "must read" list.

Lushious but simple pictures compliment an age-old fable about the circle of life.

I just received this book yesterday, and read it to my 8 year old daughter last night. The illustrations and story kept both of us engaged throughout the book.

We found ourselves completely involved in the story, and my daughter particularly delighted in the way the story ended. "You see, Daddy, it goes on..." (I won't spoil it, but I highly recommend buying this book!)

The illustrations are just wonderful, and we both found the story very engrossing.

Bravo for a very well written and illustrated book!

My kids love this series. They have the series at the school library and I've read it during library time to the classes and all the kids really like these books. It has adventure, suspense and humor that kids enjoy.

They are back! Join Charles an Oliver for yet another exciting adventure as they sail on THE SEVEN SEAS in a race with Captain Crag's sea dogs to discover the rumored southern continent. Watch out! Those pirates are fierce, and Barney, thier winged friend, has eyes that can see far. Will the Queen's cats and mice be able to outsmart them?

I just found out that my 11 year old daughter, an avid reader, has read and reread this book "at least 15 times, Mom!" Although she moved on to more challenging fare years ago, the characters and storyline of this book apparently delight her enough to draw her back again and again. I'm amused to be writing my first review for a book that is no longer being offered new, but I felt that devotion of that magnitude shouldn't go without mention.

This book is a great chilrens book. It felt like I was in the book instead of reading the book. Usally most books are hard to get into, but this just jumped right into the pool.

I love this book! I have read this book to my two toddlers, and plan to read it to my fourth grade students. I enjoyed the two different endings that are available. I always have to read both. This book is wonderful to help children talk about differences among people. In life we have two choices, we can embrace differences and learn from them or we can be fearful of differences. This book provides many opportunities for discussions with children on a very important topic, differences. Differences come in the form of disablities, languages, culture, and appearances. This story is fun to read with younger children and great for discussions with older children and even adults. This is a must read!

Glancing through Milo and the Mysterious Island was intriguing. Written and illustrated by Marcus Pfister, the book takes a new approach to children's literature: you get to decide what ending the book should have. You can opt for a happy or sad ending, depending on which you prefer. Milo and his friends embark on a journey, taking their magic stones, to find the mysterious island with striped mice. Things take a twist in each ending as the mice struggle with an unfamiliar culture and don't always make the right decision.

What first caught my eye about this book were the illustrations. Not only are they bright and colorful, but the magic stones actually seem to glow on the page. The reason for this is that the stones are done in a sort-of gold holographic material that jumps off the page. However, as I read, the book certainly had meaning as well.

Although the book has small words and is easy to read, the book packs a punch with its thought-provoking story. As the book progresses and you are given a decision as to which ending to read, a child is taught a valuable lesson. The book demonstrates on a child's level what happens when we jump to conclusions about other cultures. It demonstrates how unfair and mean we can sometimes be. On the other hand, the book also pushes the child into making a much more difficult decision: accepting and learning from other cultures.

This book is a terrific addition to children's literature. Not only are the illustrations visually enticing but the story itself holds value beyond its easily understandable words.

The beautiful illustrations are what orginally caught my eye while browsing at a bookshop. But after reading this short and clever book, I was hooked. It is funny and sweet and very original...almost poetic!

My five year old god-daughter visited me and fell in love with this book and wanted me to read it to her over and over. It's a wonderful bedtime read and I'd recommend all four books..."The Rainy Day" is great, but "Moss" is the best. Don't hesitate to buy the series...they are a delight and very fun to read aloud.

Roslyn Schwartz has created a colorful summertime world full of lush illustrations and happy adventurings of two carefree moles. The text is simple but original. The fanciful plot is charming, amusing, and uplifting. Reads quickly, but packs a satisfying story into its few pages.