Big Pigs

by Leslie Helakoski

Overview

Nibbles, Sweet Pea, and Clean Bean each want the coveted title of Biggest Pig. An afternoon of contests will determine who will be the first to squeeze through the garden fence, gobble a row of veggies, and sink to the bottom of the mudhole. Each pig has his talent, and in the end it's clear to their mama that they're all big pigs. But they'll also always be her little piglets. With a wonderful, wry sense of humor, a rhythmic text,and two fun twists in the ending, this is a tale of sibling rivalry that kids will want to read again and again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620910238
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	04/01/2014
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	935,662
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD560L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Leslie Helakoski is the author of seven picture books, including Big Chickens (winner, 2007 Michigan Reads! One State One Picture Book; winner, Great Lakes Great Books Award); Woolbur (a 2008 Book Sense Hot Pick and a Great Lakes Book Award finalist), and Doggone Feet!. This is the third book she's written and illustrated. She grew up in south Louisiana, and now lives with her family near Kalamazoo, Michigan. Visit helakoskibooks.com.

Editorial Reviews

"Helakoski packs her porcine tale with vivid verbs that are oversized and highlighted and mostly come, appropriately, in trios." —Kirkus Reviews

". . . The large format, comical narrative , and repetitive and rhyming phrases make this book ideal for sharing." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

05/01/2014
PreS-Gr 1—Three piglets—Sweet Pea, Nibbles, and Clean Bean—dare one another to show who is big, bigger, biggest. The first challenge is sneaking into the garden, next it's eating a whole row of garden vegetables, and then it's racing to the mud hole. At the end of the day, Mama Pig finds them in the farmyard and wants to know who made all the mess. Simple figures in shaded pastels give the pigs individuality. The yellow, blue, and pink pigs are often splattered with mud and are definitely having fun. The illustrations are engaging and amusing, but it's the vocabulary that really shines. Helakoski reveals her love of language with singsong rhymes and alliterative word groups, such as "They gobbled and gulped./They mashed and mangled./They swallowed and swilled." The large format, comical narrative, and repetitive and rhyming phrases make this book ideal for sharing.—Gaye Hinchliff, King County Library System, WA

School Library Journal

2014-02-26
These three little porkers behave like...well, you know, until their mama teaches them a surprising lesson. Piglets Sweet Pea, Nibbles and Clean Bean can't wait to explore the farm. Mama Pig's admonition to "[b]e good little pigs" goes in three pink ears and out the others. After sneaking through a sturdy fence (they scrape and scramble and squiggle and jiggle and shove and shimmy), the trio finds itself in the middle of an inviting patch of delicious vegetables. They attack them with vigor, gobbling and gulping and mashing and mangling and swallowing and swilling. What's left when the vegetables are gone is dirt, which quickly turns into mud that's perfect for wallowing. And they do. Stuffed and contented, they sneak back home. When she sees them, Mama Pig snorts a great big "Humph!" They sheepishly confess to all their (mis)deeds, and Mama grimly marches them to the barn. After closing the barn door, she tells them, "I'm so proud I could bust a gut!" The three little piglets kiss and snuggle with their Mama—"Smush. Smack. Smooch"—before falling asleep. Helakoski packs her porcine tale with vivid verbs that are oversized and highlighted and mostly come, appropriately, in trios. The final twist, however, though piggily appropriate, comes out of the blue and lacks textual explication, which will likely confuse young readers. Gleeful—and opaque. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews