Kathryn K. Thurman;Illustrated by Lindsay Ward
Pig lives on a very lush and picturesque apple farm. The farmer, Mrs. Pippens, loves her apple orchard and subsequently, Pig is the recipient of all sorts of apple dishes. She happily serves up applesauce, apple pie, baked apples, and apple flambe. I love that Mrs. Pippens is the farmer and not cast in the traditional role of farmer's wife.
When we first see him, Pig looks happy enough, standing ankle deep in his mud pit with a small smile on his face and a curl in his tail. On the very next page, Mrs. Pippins is hard at work in her kitchen surrounded by bushels of apples, and that pig's tune sure has changed. He has his arms (front legs?) crossed, his eyebrows are furrowed and he looks downright cross. Apparently Pig has had it up to here with the apple dishes. Poor Pig longs for ... vegetables.
Since the farmer will not change the feed, the pig alone must take charge of his own diet. He breaks into the vegetable garden and eats like, well, a pig, until he is discovered. Mrs. Pippens returns him to the pigpen and resumes serving apple dishes. Pig cannot escape the confines of his pen and suddenly realizes that he has the ability to grow his own veggies. The way Pig manages to get seeds into his garden (in a very natural way) made the kids listening to the story practically roll on the ground with laughter.
I just plain love the illustrations. The apple trees are all printed with bits of apple recipes and some of the text has a background that looks like linen. There are lots of colors and patterns, with an overall very welcoming effect.At the very back of the book, there is a small section titled "Pig's Tips for Growing Your Own Organic Garden." What a nifty idea!
Review copy provided by Kane Miller.
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