Overview
One pig wants potatoes . . . then so does his brother . . . his sister makes it three pigs, and Papa makes four. Then there are the neighbors! Now all the piggies want potatoes, and soon it's one big potato party!
Anika and Christopher Denise have teamed up to create this most charming, classic counting book, full of picture-perfect pigs and pleasing rhyme. Children will love Pigs Love Potatoes as much as, well, pigs love potatoes. And as you'll see, that's quite a bit!
Synopsis
One pig wants potatoes . . . then so does his brother . . . his sister makes it three pigs, and Papa makes four. Then there are the neighbors! Now all the piggies want potatoes, and soon it's one big potato party!
Anika and Christopher Denise have teamed up to create this most charming, classic counting book, full of picture-perfect pigs and pleasing rhyme. Children will love Pigs Love Potatoes as much as, well, pigs love potatoes. And as you'll see, that's quite a bit!
Publishers Weekly
When one of her little piggies wants potatoes, Mamma is willing to oblige in this husband and wife collaboration, a debut for the author. Two other siblings and then Pappa arrive on the scene requesting potatoes as well, so Mamma enlists them as peelers (the piggy children use the detritus to create a wig of potato peelings for their very patient father). Then three friends drop by, so Mamma increases the number of potatoes to nine, adding "one for good measure/Splash! / In goes number ten!" Children may have trouble keeping track of whether they ought to be counting pigs or potatoes, but ultimately it doesn't matter much: Christopher Denise's (The Wishing of Biddy Malone) acrylic and charcoal pictures are the main draw here. With soft, smudged colors and a keen, loving eye for domestic detail, the illustrator makes readers feel instantly at home in this porcine household. He has a gift for communicating the smallest gesture or subtlest emotional nuance, whether it's the thoughtful way Mamma regards a recipe or her boiling pot or the impish flip of a piggy hand as it sends a potato peel flying into the air. Even after youngsters are adept at counting to 10, they'll find much to cherish here. Ages 2-up. (June)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationEditorials
Publishers Weekly
When one of her little piggies wants potatoes, Mamma is willing to oblige in this husband and wife collaboration, a debut for the author. Two other siblings and then Pappa arrive on the scene requesting potatoes as well, so Mamma enlists them as peelers (the piggy children use the detritus to create a wig of potato peelings for their very patient father). Then three friends drop by, so Mamma increases the number of potatoes to nine, adding "one for good measure/Splash! / In goes number ten!" Children may have trouble keeping track of whether they ought to be counting pigs or potatoes, but ultimately it doesn't matter much: Christopher Denise's (The Wishing of Biddy Malone) acrylic and charcoal pictures are the main draw here. With soft, smudged colors and a keen, loving eye for domestic detail, the illustrator makes readers feel instantly at home in this porcine household. He has a gift for communicating the smallest gesture or subtlest emotional nuance, whether it's the thoughtful way Mamma regards a recipe or her boiling pot or the impish flip of a piggy hand as it sends a potato peel flying into the air. Even after youngsters are adept at counting to 10, they'll find much to cherish here. Ages 2-up. (June)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationChildren's Literature
The rhymes in this counting book begin with one small pig in an anthropomorphic family who wants potatoes. This starts his Mamma cooking. When his little brother joins them, Mamma puts both of them to work washing potatoes. Then, their little sister makes three pigs busy peeling the potatoes. As the potatoes begin to boil, Pappa Piggy arrives to help peel. Then four pigs are waiting. More pigs arrive, until Mamma has added a tenth potato. When finally at the table, “The very piggy piggies/ Eat each and every bite.” Finally, everyone pitches in to make Mamma happy by cleaning up. Charcoal drawings add a lively vibrancy to the charming characters expressing a range of emotions and playful interactions; acrylic paints add to the depiction of clothing and household objects. The double-page scenes are attractively designed to keep the actions within the comfortable family setting. A cat unmentioned in the text plays a visual role. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia MarantzSchool Library Journal
PreS-Gr 1
In this simple counting book, Mamma Pig is in the kitchen when one of her children makes a dinner request ("One pig wants potatoes/So Mamma starts to cook"). As she prepares the vegetables, her bespectacled son, her tutu-wearing daughter, and then her briefcase-toting husband also put in their orders for spuds. Soon several neighbors arrive and the number of potatoes to be peeled and boiled increases to nine with "one more for good measure." Charming acrylic and charcoal pictures of a cozy household and a happy family will have wide appeal. The antics of the pigs and their pet cat add gentle humor to the homey illustrations. The rhyming text ends when the potatoes are eaten, the table is cleared, and Mama has received numerous kisses. Read this along with Laura Numeroff's If You Give a Pig a Pancake (HarperCollins, 1998) and David McPhail's Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore! (Puffin, 1996) for a hungry-swine storytime.
—Maryann H. OwenCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.