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Synopsis
Wee-skin-and-bones isn’t like the other little pigs, who tease him for being different. So he runs away from home, into the middle of a great dark forest. There, with some help from an unexpected friend, Wee-skin-and-bones learns that it doesn’t really matter if your tail isn’t curly and whirly and your ears aren’t flippy-flappy—it’s how you feel on the inside that counts.
With playful, exuberant text and endearing illustrations, John Richardson has created a reassuring story for young children about the unconditional love of family and the importance of celebrating one’s differences.
Publishers Weekly
The piglet protagonist of this tale of self-esteem is, outwardly, unimpressive: Wee-skin-and-bones has "crinkly-crumply" ears, a "tiddly-widdly button of a snout" and "absolutely no tail at all," and he can manage only a "teeny-tiny" grunt. Ignored by his father and teased by his more comely siblings, he runs away to the forest. There he's taken in by a kindly wild boar who personifies the power of a positive outlook: "I'm a bristly old scruff on the outside, but inside... Oooo... I'm a beauty!" The piglet revels in spending time with someone who values his company, yet he misses his kin; fortunately, his worried mother and siblings come to find him. Richardson's (illustrator of the Budgie books) watercolors are warmly and whimsically detailed, but the mood is constantly sunny despite the piglet's changing emotions. His surroundings look utterly welcoming, even the barnyard where he feels so rejected and the big dark forest where he feels scared and lonely. And when reunited with Wee-skin-and-bones, the piglet's mother "smother[s] her baby in a whole shower of kisses," but neither the father who previously "didn't seem to notice him at all" nor the unkind brothers and sisters ever articulate any kind of regret or affection. The newfound sense of family connection closes the book on a false note. Ages 4-7. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.