Overview
Poor pig number one may never get to sleep! In this swine-stuffed count-along bedtime book, one ham-bunctious pig after another comes crowding into her bedroom — each with its own special way to keep the poor little pig awake. Pig number two turns on the light. Pig number three likes to watch TV all night. Four's a juggling boar — and there are still six more! With new hogs arriving by the minute, pig number one's bedroom is wall-to-wall pig-demonium. Will this weary little pig ever hear the Bard's immortal words: "Goodnight, sweet pig"? Here is a counting book that uses irresistible rhymes to send children off to sleep, night after night.
Synopsis
Count along with this irresistible swine-stuffed bedtime book. Every page is hilarious, wall-to-wall pig-demonium!
Publishers Weekly
Bailey (Stanley's Wild Ride)introduces a piglet named Hamlette (aka pig number one), who actually wants to go to bed. But one by one, her nine fellow pigs burst into her bedroom with much different agendas. Pig number two wants to "read with a light,/ and eat buttered toast all through the night," while the last arrival, pig number 10, is "a famous basketball star/ who brought his whole team in a luxury car!" When Hamlette finally reaches the end of her rope ("How can a poor pig girl get some sleep?"), the perpetrators sheepishly depart in countdown form; those last to leave even make amends with a bedtime story (pig number five), "a tender kiss goodnight" (pig number 4) and other goodhearted ministrations. Masse (Three Cat and Mouse Tales) packs the subtly grained acrylic paintings with mayhem and pratfalls, including a bride-pig falling into a cake. But the elegant palette and crisp, editorial-style characterizations seem ill-matched to the comically chaotic proceedings. Ages 2-5. (Mar.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationEditorials
Quill & Quire
This is a well-done go-to-sleep book ...Publishers Weekly
Bailey (Stanley's Wild Ride)introduces a piglet named Hamlette (aka pig number one), who actually wants to go to bed. But one by one, her nine fellow pigs burst into her bedroom with much different agendas. Pig number two wants to "read with a light,/ and eat buttered toast all through the night," while the last arrival, pig number 10, is "a famous basketball star/ who brought his whole team in a luxury car!" When Hamlette finally reaches the end of her rope ("How can a poor pig girl get some sleep?"), the perpetrators sheepishly depart in countdown form; those last to leave even make amends with a bedtime story (pig number five), "a tender kiss goodnight" (pig number 4) and other goodhearted ministrations. Masse (Three Cat and Mouse Tales) packs the subtly grained acrylic paintings with mayhem and pratfalls, including a bride-pig falling into a cake. But the elegant palette and crisp, editorial-style characterizations seem ill-matched to the comically chaotic proceedings. Ages 2-5. (Mar.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationChildren's Literature -
All Pig number one wants to do is go to sleep, but that is easier said then done as one by one pigs with other things on their minds enter her room. "Pig number two liked to read with a light and eat buttered toast all through the night," while "number three liked to watch TV… paint her trotters and drink iced tea, Four was a boar who juggled with plums, Five came to bed with a full set of drums." Also showing up are a bride, a Spanish dancer, a Bengal lancer, and a basketball star whose whole team is in his luxury car. The ensuing mayhem leads Number One to weep and wonder how "a poor pig" can "get some sleep." As in McPhail's Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore!, the pigs contritely clean up, offer soothing ministrations, then tiptoe away as the sweet pig closes her eyes and goes to sleep. The simple rhyming text is appealing, both as a counting book and a bedtime tale, although one wonders if youngsters will know what a Spanish dancer or a Bengal lancer are. When counting up, Bailey has one numeral word per page; some counting down pages cover several, nicely pacing the text. Masse's brightly colored and humorous acrylic paintings are filled with visual detail, starting on page one where the masks for comedy and tragedy hang over Pig's bed, and continuing with the bride falling in the wedding cake while the drums bang and plums swirl through the air, a chagrined basketball star quietly leaving, and closing with a quiet pig sound asleep in a room filled with pale moonlight. This works well as a rhyming, counting, and/or bedtime book.School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2
This counting book begins with a young pig struggling to fall asleep. She is interrupted by a growing number of adult pigs, each bringing its own distraction, such as, "Five came to bed with a full set of drums" and "Pig number eight was a Spanish dancer." When the youngster can no longer take the chaos, the others apologize and help to make her comfortable as they leave one by one. The story is told in a simple rhyme, the sentences printed in wavelike patterns. The illustrations are bright and humorous, depicting the increasing bedlam. Goodnight, Sweet Pig would not only help small children learn their numbers but would also make an excellent bedtime story for restless children.
—Donna AtmurCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.